


Archangel

by 1MissMolly



Category: James Bond (Craig movies), James Bond (Movies), James Bond - All Media Types
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Canon-Typical Violence, Developing Relationship, M/M, plot heavy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-01
Updated: 2017-09-25
Packaged: 2018-12-22 14:23:57
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 16
Words: 44,314
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11969247
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/1MissMolly/pseuds/1MissMolly
Summary: “I’ll tell you after you remove your hands from my sister so she can go get dressed.” Q glared at Bond.Q discovers his twin sister is working with terrorists. He asks Bond to help stop a possible terrorist attack and a mad man.This is a plot heavy story with a developing relationship between Bond and Q. As they fight the bad guys they learn that their relationship is more than just coworkers and all those years of flirting actually meant something.





	1. Thought You Were Retired

**Author's Note:**

> As always, I do not own any of the Bond Characters. Just my own stories and my deep love for the originals. This story is marked mature but that is because of the violence. There is no graphic smut.

The sun was beating down on the Humvee as it drove down the ravine. The hard packed earth was barely a path let alone a road. The vehicle lurched to the side as the front wheels rolled over large rock. The two individuals inside were knocked against the interior.

The black man in the passenger side of the Humvee looked out over the desolate landscape. The desert of southern Libya was a waste land; devoid of life except for the random weed or bush that struggled in the arid heat. Rocky outcroppings dotted the dusty ground and foretold of the shift in the landscape. As the truck began its descent into the basin, a dried up river bed came into view. A few silvery green trees lined the stream’s path. The dead leaves already blown away by the prevailing desert wind.

Felix Leiter pulled the stub of a cigar from his lips to spit out the open window. He hated missions that brought him to desolate places like this. The nearest civilization was Ghat to the east and hours away by truck. If he had to walk it, he would never make it there alive.

Felix Leiter, spy for the CIA, was in Libya on the trail of a terrorist named Tawfeek. He had been on the American most wanted list since an airline bombing in Athens. Tawfeek had been the go between a radical groups and a government unfriendly to the West. The man had been linked to terrorist attacks across Europe and had been rumored to be planning something big for America. Felix was sent to Libya to kill the man.p

The Humvee shifted again and the two men in the front seat swayed side to side. The heat was now well above forty-six degrees and the sweat was drying fast on Felix’s dark skin. The man driving beside Felix was his contact in the area, Nagi. He was from Syria and had worked with the CIA on several missions. The bitter scent of the man’s sweat made Felix’s mouth foul tasting. He puffed harder on the cigar to erase the taste.

“There . . .” Nagi pointed out the front windscreen at a clump of crumbling buildings. The old clay bricks were bleached white by the sun. Felix could make out the camouflage netting over the top of several of the ruins giving the buildings temporary roofs. The closer they drove the more signs of life Felix saw.

There were other vehicles hidden under the netting and partially collapsed buildings. There was a radio antenna sticking up from one of the buildings. He started to noticed men with machineguns and other weapons hidden behind walls and in broken down doorways. He saw a large army truck under netting with the distinctive United Nation emblem on the side of it.

Nagi pulled the Humvee to a sliding stop in front of the ruins were the antenna could be seen. Felix glanced around. He saw at least a half a dozen men watching him. All of them armed. A queasy wave of apprehension moved through the American operative. He hesitated about opening the door of the vehicle but Nagi was already out of the truck and waving as the men approached.

"Marhabaan . . ." Nagi smiled as he greeted the men.

Felix slowly got out of the truck and glanced around the area. One of approaching terrorists didn’t smile until they were right next to Nagi, then the man opened his arms and hugged the Syrian.

“Ahlaan wasahlaan sadiqati.” The gangly younger man said. He was wearing a white and black checkered kyfyia. His clothes were lose fitting and dark in color. He wore a bandoleer around his body. The brass ammunition dull and dirty in the leather keeps. Hanging from the bandoleer at his shoulder were two grenades. Russian made and rusty looking to Felix.

“This is my friend, Mustafa. This is Felix. He is a believer.” Nagi said in English as he introduced Felix to the terrorist.

The terrorists looked Felix over carefully before he extended his hand. Felix shook it not removing his gaze from the man’s dark eyes.

“You are an American?” Mustafa asked.

“Canadian.” Felix said.

Mustafa smiled and shook Felix’s hand with greater vigor. “Excellent. You can help us get our men into the United States?”

“All I need is photos and date when they want to cross.” Felix let go of the man’s hand and glanced around the camp. “How many men are you talking about?”

“Come . . .” Mustafa waved his hand for Felix and Nagi to follow.

Felix hesitated for a moment but followed behind the man. They stepped through an open door way in a brick wall and into the darkness of a still standing single room dwelling. The roof was made up of narrow tree branches that were weaved together with hemp and covered with mud and straw. The floor was bare dirt that had been packed down hard with age and use. There was one window in the wall to the right that looked out over the incoming road. A guard stood at the window with a rifle in his hands. A set of binoculars hung loosely around his neck.

There was a desk in the middle of the room with maps spread out across the top of it. Up against one wall was a camp cot. A sleeping bag lay rumbled across the canvas webbing. The other walls had crates of ammunition and weapons piled up against them. Felix could make out at least three other men in the room beside the guard at the window. There was one man sitting at the desk and another Arab standing behind him. There was also a man in the shadows by one of the crates. Felix couldn’t see the man’s face but had the feeling he was the most dangerous man in the room.

“You are the person who will help get my men into the US of A?” The man sitting at the desk asked.

Felix glanced around as Nagi and Mustafa took up positions behind him. Felix could feel sweat roll down his back under his canvas shirt. He felt the hairs rise on his arms as his body tensed.

“Tell me how many and I will tell you how much.” Felix said as he pulled the stub of the cigar from his mouth.

The man sitting behind the desk glance over to the man standing beside him then back at Felix. “Ten.”

“I can get three in at most at one time. It will take at least three months to get all ten in. What is the mission and when do they need to be there?”

The man sitting down frowned. “You don’t need to know the specifics of our mission.”

“I need to know how soon I have to get your men into the States and I need to know where to leave them. It is a big country. You just can’t come in to New York and expect to be on the West Coast by next day driving.”

The two men at the desk glanced at each other, then over to the man in the shadows.

“What do you say?”

“I think he is trying to get mission specifics so he can report back to his handlers and stop you. He is CIA.”

The man from the shadows stepped out and into the light. His skin was darkly tan but he was not Arab. His hair was blonde and his eyes were an icy blue. His canvas shirt was unbuttoned and partially open. Felix could see the scars on the man’s right collar bone from a bullet wound.

Felix spat again. The mucus landing in the dirt just in front of the toe of James Bond’s boot. “I’m a Canadian. Not CIA.” He gritted out between his teeth.

Nagi kicked Felix’s feet out from underneath him. The black man fell to his knees in the dirt. Mustafa brought a long bladed knife out from behind his back and slipped it under Felix’s chin. The operative could feel the icy burn as the blade began to cut into his skin.

“Wait!” The seated man said from behind the desk. Mustafa stopped. Felix tipped his chin up trying to pull away from the blade.

Bond stepped forward and stood next to Mustafa looking down at Felix.

“Hello, Felix.”

“They said you retired.” Felix said glancing up at Bond. He noticed Bond had a double shoulder holster on. One handgun under each arm.

“Not really retired . . . just changed employers.” Bond said with a tip of his head.

The man who had been sitting behind the desk stood up and started to walk over to Felix and James.

“I was told the CIA was looking for me.” The man said as he glared down at Felix kneeling on the ground.

“Tawfeek . . .” Felix mumbled.

Tawfeek slapped Felix hard across the cheek. The kneeing man took a moment to wipe his mouth of blood before knelt back up, staring at Bond and Tawfeek.

“Yes and just like you western pigs, I have my own secret service.” He patted James Bond on the shoulder. The blonde didn’t acknowledge the gesture. His eyes were fixed on Felix’s. “Don’t worry, our plan for an attack in the United States will be much later. I have another mission I’m concentrating on right now. The UN Peace Keeping Forces are in for a surprise tonight.”

Felix glanced around at the crates of ammunition. There were explosives as well as shoulder launch missiles.

“The truck outside . . . you’re going to drive right into their compound and attack them.” Felix said.

Tawfeek smiled and laughed. “They won’t even know who is killing them until after we put two missiles into their headquarters. My secret agent has done all the scouting on the base and the British army stationed there.”

Felix turned and looked back up at Bond. “You bastard. You’d sellout your own for a few dollars wouldn’t you.”

“Pounds not dollars. And not just a few.” Bond smiled.

“I was going to have you shot before you arrived here.” Tawfeek continued, “But Bond said it would be better if the British found a dead CIA operative at the UN camp once we are done. Cause many more problems for the Americans and the English.” Tawfeek laughed.

Felix glance around the room as Bond’s eyes twitched up at Mustafa.

“So are you going to kill me, Bond?” Felix asked.

A smile curved the corners of James Bond’s mouth. “I owe you for Bolivia. The Americans tried to kill me there, remember.”

Felix released a deep sigh and tipped his chin down. Tawfeek smiled as he waved Mustafa back and away from the CIA agent. Bond immediately pulled out his gun with his right hand. He held right to Felix’s forehead. The click as Bond released the safety was loud. Bond looked down at Felix who was watching him, then winked.

Bond moved so fast hardly anyone realized it. The first round went right through Mustafa. He fell backwards into Nagi, pulling both men to the dirt floor. Felix reached up and grabbed the second gun from Bond’s holster. He twisted on the ground and fired but Tawfeek was already moving. The round embedded into the clay bricks as Tawfeek dived under the desk. Bond shot the man by the window as Felix aimed at the man standing beside the desk.

Nagi pulled himself to his feet and was struggling to get out of the small building. Bond grabbed Felix under his arm and pulled him to his feet.

“Thanks brother.” Felix said as James grabbed the Russian grenades from Mustafa’s bandoleer. He pulled the pin on one and tossed it into the crate of explosives against the wall.

Felix and Bond made it out into the open air when the building exploded. Both men were thrown to the ground from the concussion. The terrorists who were running towards the gunfire were pushed back by the explosion. Bond and Felix scrambled to their feet. Bond pulled the pin on the second grenade and tossed it at the truck painted to look like it belonged to UN troops. The truck exploded as Felix jumped into the Humvee. James made it into the passenger seat as Felix pressed the accelerator down and gravel sprayed out from under the wheels at the men rushing towards them. Bullets sprayed across the Humvee. They pierced the metal but did no damage to the two men inside. The truck bucked and sped off down the dried riverbed and away from the further explosions within the camp. Black smoke curled upward and into the bleach white sky.

Bond and Felix bounced in the front seat of the Humvee as it sped away.

“Retired?” Bond asked.

“They said you took off with some woman and disappeared.” Felix said as he fought the wheel as the truck drove over another large rock.

“Just a holiday, nothing more. I guess I’ll just work till it kills me.” Bond said as he glance in the side mirror at the flames and smoke behind them.

“Not today, James. Not today, brother.” Felix smiled.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cue music, roll credits. Think of this like the beginning of Daniel Craig Bond movies. With an exciting opening that later on becomes significant. Please enjoy the story.


	2. Mission to Italy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bond gets a new assignment.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for the wonderful comments. It is so nice to see familiar faces writing back to me. Please enjoy the next chapter.

After the heat of the Libyan Desert, February in London was quite a change. The icy wind was blowing up the Thames and freezing everything in its path. The blazing sun of the desert in a pale blue sky was replaced by the slate grey ceiling of an approaching winter storm. It had been over a week since he returned, when Bond walked into MI6 wearing his Tom Wood wool overcoat and his cashmere scarf. His cheeks were ruddy from the cold and wind but his tan was still deep. He took the lifts to the executive floor slowly removing the soft leather gloves he was wearing.

“James, such a pleasure to see you.” Eve Moneypenny purred as he entered M’s outer office.

“Moneypenny, darling. How about joining me for champagne and strawberries tonight.” Bond asked as he leaned over her desk and into her personal space.

“Sorry, James. I’m allergic.” She smiled coyly.

“To strawberries?”

“No . . . unquestionable assurance.” Her smile became larger. “He is waiting for you with Tanner and Q.”

Bond stood up straight and started to unbutton his wool coat. He pulled the coat off and sighed. “You wound me, Moneypenny.”

“Again.” She said as she depressed the button to unlock the soundproof door leading into M’s private office.

The leather padded door clicked open and Bond lay his coat over the back of one of the chairs in the outer office then stepped into the room. As promised, Tanner was sitting in one of the chairs in front of M’s large oak desk. Q was sitting in the other tapping quietly away on his tablet.

“Sir.” Bond greeted as he entered.

“Ah . . . good, 007. Finally.”

Bond took a position between the two chairs, standing. He remained still and impassive in expression. M continued.

“It appears that Tawfeek didn’t die in Libya.”

Bond twitched. Felix and he had barely made it out of the house alive. He didn’t know how anyone else could have survived.

“Sir?”

Tanner took over the meeting. “We have reports of Tawfeek making it to Tripoli. He is en-route to Italy. He is negotiating with a hacker known as Gabriel.”

Q glanced up with a quizzical look on his face. M caught it.

“Q, do you know the man?” M asked.

“No, it is just an odd name. Most hackers have, shall we say, more colorful titles.” Q offered.

“The hacker is believed to be Russian.” Tanner continued.

“Russian?” Bond raised an eyebrow.

“It appears some of the best hackers in the world are now unofficially associated with the Russian government.” M injected into the conversation. “After the Russian hack of the both the American and French elections, several hackers have offered their services freelance to anyone willing to pay their price. The payments has been traced to the Russian FSB counter espionage department.”

“You’re saying the Russians have decided to reignite the ‘Cold War’ in cyberspace?” Bond asked beginning to grab the thread of the briefing.

“It may be the beginning of new battle with old tactic. Control the information and you control the populace.” M stared at Bond.

“The old maneuver to seize the radio stations and newspapers and control the release of information during an invasion.” Bond repeated the standard battle tactic.

“Exactly.” M said.

“There has been an increase in ransomware and information corruption. The attacks are difficult to trace but a preponderance are traced back to Russia. We believe it is a concerted effort by the government.” Tanner continued.

“And how does Tawfeek and this Gabriel fit in?” Bond asked.

“Tawfeek is working for terrorist groups who are actively targeting Western interests. If he is able to convince this Gabriel to assist him, then attacks could become more lethal. Instead of elections being hacked, Tawfeek could direct nuclear power plants or defense computers. Our transportation grid could be compromised. Imagine what would happen if they were able to slip ransomware into the computers at Heathrow and Gatwick?” Tanner said looked sternly at Bond.

Bond felt out of his depth. Give him a target he could see and shoot. A mission with a definable goal. That he could handle but working in the world of cyberspace where the battles were fought on keyboards and over the ether, he was lost.

He turned and looked at Q. The younger man seemed to have not been listening to the conversation. His attention fixed on the tablet in his hands.

“How quickly could Tawfeek launch an attack?” Bond asked.

Q looked up and stared owlishly at Bond. He hesitated for a moment as if weighing the information to come up with a determination.

“He, himself . . . never. He needs someone with the skill and fortunately they are limited. Granted some of the best hackers in the world are under Russian control.”

“We don’t believe Russia wants to be involved in a lethal attack. This would only be in the realm of a terrorist like Tawfeek. But if he is going after one of the Russian hackers . . . Gabriel, then it is only a matter of time.” Tanner explained. “Tawfeek has not made contact with Gabriel yet. There is supposed to be a meeting in Venice this week. Bond, you need to intercept the meeting.”

“And?” Bond felt he had an obtainable goal now.

“We need Tawfeek alive. We need to know who he has been working with and who his contacts are. We need information about future attacks not only for Great Britain but also other Western interests.”

“And Gabriel?” Bond asked again.

“Kill him.” M said coolly. “Send a message. Let other hackers know what will happen to them if they chose to step over that line and join forces with our enemies.” The pure coldness to M’s voice relayed the sincerity of his words.

Bond nodded his head.

M continued. “Q will kit you out for your mission. You will need to be in Venice before Tawfeek arrives.”

Q stood up and nodded. “I will have Bond ready to leave in five hours, sir.”

“Make it sooner.” M ordered.

The young man nodded and turned to leave, ignoring Bond as the blonde followed him out. Bond grabbed his coat as they walked passed Eve’s desk. Q lost in thought, missed the woman saying goodbye to him.

“Planet Earth to Q. Come in Q.” Bond teased as the doors of the lift closed.

“What?” Q looked up from his tablet and then around himself. He seemed confused they were in in the lift and the other man was with him. “Bond?”

“What is so interesting?” Bond tried to look over at the tablet and see what Q was reading.

“Nothing.” Q twisted the tablet way from Bond’s gaze. The young man appeared flustered.

The doors opened on the floor for Q Branch. Q quickly exited the lift with Bond following quickly behind.

“Q, I don’t want to bring up previous conversations but should I be worried about your competence? You seem to be distracted by nothing at all.”

Q relaxed his shoulders and strode across the concrete work floor. Numerous members of his department were working on various projects. The sound of soft hammering and the smell of ozone from welding filled the air.

“I would have thought that concern had been eliminated but maybe your age has caused you to be confused. Should we have your mental competency tested, 007?”

Q paused at his desk. He glanced around and then up to one of his minions. “Get me one of our new cameras with the telephoto lens.” Q glanced back up at Bond. “Given the expediency to get you on the ground in Italy, I won’t be able to encrypt a Walther to your palm print so you will have to take an ordinary handgun with you.”

“How disappointing.” Bond smiled.

“It is more appropriate for you.”

“Lethal and elegant?”

“Random and inefficient. Our new telephoto lens has the ability to relay live images back to MI6. We will be able to see what you are seeing. ”

“I’ll try to supply you with a variety of holiday pics.”

Q sighed. “You’re hunting a terrorist, not enjoying a romantic sojourn down the Grand Canal.”

“I could do both. You never know who could join me. Are you busy Q or would you like to come and see the sunset over Saint Mark’s Basilica?”

Q looked up with a pout on his face. Bond smiled. Q held the man’s gaze then Bond noticed a twitch to the corner of Q’s mouth.

“I have something to show you, Bond.” Q stepped around his desk and up to a set of steel doors. He pressed a button and the doors opened reveling a new Aston Martin. Bond walked past Q and up to the gunmetal grey car. “Aston Martin’s new Vanquish. Just arrived.”

The car had the sleek aerodynamic lines of a jet. The smooth sweeping curves like a beautiful woman. Bond’s mouth watered.

“A V-8 engine producing 608PS. An eight speed transmission with quad-exhaust tailpipes . . . revised inlet manifold for increased airflow under a carbon-fiber body. And a few of my special modifications. Gorgeous, isn’t it?” Q smirked. Bond’s fingers twitched. He wanted to drive the car. Feel the roar of the engine as he shifted the gears. Bond ran his tongue over his bottom lip in expectation of Q offering the car for him to take on the mission. Q’s smile broadened.

“Shame you don’t need a car in Venice.” Q turned around and called out to one of the minions. “TJ, put the keys for the Vanquish in safe and lock it.”

Bond huffed softly. Like a simple safe was going to stop him from stealing another car from Q again.

“Also have it put up on blocks and remove the wheels. I don’t want it to go missing like the last one.” Q glanced over his shoulder at Bond. His eyes narrowed but his smile grew.

“Bastard.” Bond whispered.

Another tech came up with a black case. He laid it on the table before Q and Bond. Q stepped forward and opened the case. Inside was a 35mm digital camera with two separate lens.

“Both lens are able to transmit images to MI6. Other than that the camera and equipment is no different from any other Canon camera.” Q said as he handed the camera to Bond.

Bond looked over the camera and turned it on. He looked at the screen then held it up to his eye, looking through the view finder. Unintentionally pointing the lens back at the car that was presently having its aluminum wheels removed. Bond pouted and set the camera back into its case.

Q handed over another small case.

“Your gun and com link. Please try to keep it out of the water this time.” Q said with a slight tinge of anger to his voice. “Also here are your travel documents. Plane ticket to Venice Marco Polo Airport and transfer. You have a suite at Hotel Danieli. Once you land, please make contact so we can update you on Tawfeek.”

“Very good.” Bond snapped the cases close and slipped the documents into the breast pocket of his suit jacket. “Well, if you’re not going to take me up on my offer to show you Venice, Q, I guess I shall be saying goodbye till I call you tomorrow.”

“I assure you, I’m not missing anything by declining your . . . offer.”

“You don’t know.” Bond leaned in closer to Q and dropped his voice to a rumble. “I’ve been commended on my attention to detail.”

Bond watched as a blush came to Q’s cheeks. He smiled and leaned back, retreating quickly before the young man could say anything else.


	3. Isle of San Giorgio Maggiore

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bond intercepts Tawfeek and the hacker.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for the wonder comments and kudos. I hope you enjoy this chapter.

For the last twenty-six hundred years, Italy has been involved to one degree or another in practically every major historical event, whether it be political, religious or social. Some of the most important locations in world history are within its borders. The Italian government recognized the significance of Italy’s history and had set out to protect it both openly and covertly. Over the past few decades, Italy had followed the policy of establishing a CCTV network to watch over artifacts of the past. Although not as apparent as England’s cameras, CCTV covered the streets and waterways of Venice as well as numerous other renowned cities and locations in Italy.

Q was presently hacking into that CCTV network. Bond had made it to the Hotel Danieli and was waiting for information regarding Tawfeek’s arrival. Q was using a facial recognition to scan the CCTV feeds from both the airport as well as the train station. It wouldn’t be possible to cover every water approach but he was also having his minions scan every social network for a possible hit of Tawfeek’s face on someone else’s upload. This was complicated by the fact that Carnevale di Venezia had started. Thousands of people were roaming the streets and water ways of Venice wearing the emotionless masks made famous by the festival.

It took six hours before Q had a hit. Tawfeek was seen leaving the Santa Lucia Train Station. Q quickly texted Bond with the information that Tawfeek had hired a water taxi and was presently sailing down the Grand Canal.

Bond was on the veranda of his suite when he received the text from Q. The bells of Saint Mark’s Square could be heard ringing out the hour. He glanced in the direction of the Doge’s Palace. The sounds of cheers and music reached him the short distance away. He had to rush if he was going to intercept the terrorist. Fortunately, Bond had leased a small speedboat to get around the canals during the festival.

Bond rushed from the hotel and jumped into the craft that was moored by the hotel entrance. The camera case Q had supplied him with was beside him on the seat. He was limited by the wake zone so he couldn’t open the small boat up to its full speed within the city, but he hoped to intercept Tawfeek and then follow him to his meeting with Gabriel.

Bond took a chance and turned up the Rio di St Luca. Just as he exited the narrow canal he saw the water taxi with the terrorist. Tawfeek’s head was shaved and there were healing scars on the side of his face from the blast. Slowly, Bond pulled the speedboat out of the canal and into the stream of traffic heading down the Grand Canal and into the Lagoon.

The boat headed to the south and around the Isle of San Giorgio Maggiore. The sixteenth century church loomed over the boats as they approached. The water taxi went around the west end of the island and into the protected boat basin. The driver slowed the water taxi down and dropped Tawfeek off on the docks as Bond sailed his boat passed. Tawfeek glanced around then walked across the docks and into the cluster of old buildings. Bond pulled the small boat into a slip and quickly tied it off. He grabbed the camera from its case and attached one of the lens.

Tapping his com link in his ear, he connected with MI6.

“Q? Are you there?”

“Yes, 007. Do you have a visual?” Q clear precise diction came up in Bond’s ear.

“I’m following him into the Cini Foundation. No sign of Gabriel yet.” Bond said as he followed Tawfeek down a shaded pavement.

Tawfeek paused and Bond jumped behind a tree to hide himself. He stilled and listened carefully for any sound of approaching footsteps. Bond pushed his back flat to the flaking bark and took a hesitant look around the tree trunk. He could see Tawfeek had walked further on. Bond checked his Walther, sliding the action back to load a round in the chamber before he started to follow the man again.

The gardens of the Cini Foundation were immaculate, but Bond couldn’t enjoy the peaceful beauty. His mind was focused on the killer in front of him. Bond walked past the tall cypress trees and the manicured hedges into a wooded lawn beyond the main buildings. Occasionally dodging behind tree trunks and moving to the side of Tawfeek’s path.

The terrorist led Bond to an open air amphitheater built in the Roman style. Bond stayed back in the tree cover as Tawfeek walked down the sloping steps to the stage. A movement from the side caught Bond’s eyes. There was a second person there. Bond swung the camera up and pointed it at the new arrival.

She was young and thin. Waif looking. Her white blonde hair was too light to be anything but dyed. It encircled her pale face. She wore fashionable large dark sunglasses that covered a great deal of her face. She had on a dark jacket and a short black skirt. Bond could see fishnet stockings and ankle high boots. Over her shoulder she carried a leather satchel; her two small fists gripping the strap tightly to her chest.  

~Q~

Back in London, Q was standing at his normal workstation for opps. In front of him was a wall with several large computer screens. Q had hacked into the Cini Foundation CCTV feed for the island. He also directed a satellite to fly over the island once Bond had given him a location. Finally he had the visual feed from the camera lens Q had supplied Bond.

Q noticed the woman before Bond had moved the camera in her direction. He was just before telling Bond about her when the scene shifted off Tawfeek and onto the stranger.

But she wasn’t a stranger.

Q took a sudden quick breath in. It made a sharp nasal sound and Bond caught it over the comm link.

“Q, do you see her?” Bond asked.

Idiot! Of course Q could see her.

“Yes, Bond. Hold. Do not intercept.” Q said forcing himself to remain calm.

“Is she Gabriel?” Bond asked.

Q knew her hacker name was Archangel. Could she have changed it or was that a mistake of the translator who read the original intercepted message from Russia and confused Archangel for Archangel Gabriel to Gabriel?

Q felt a wave of nausea hit. He glanced around the room and realized no one was specifically paying attention to him. His minions were either absorbed by their own projects or were only watching the computer screens on the wall and not him.

He pulled up another screen on his computer but kept it off the wall. He started typing rapidly. He made sure the rest of his conversation with Bond was not being recorded.

“Bond . . .” Q spoke as softly as he could into the microphone. He hesitated. He was about to commit treason and it frightened him.

“Q, is that Gabriel?” Bond asked again.

“Yes.” Q felt like he was standing on sand and the sea was washing it out from underneath him.

“Thank you for conformation. I will eliminate her here.”

“No, Bond . . . change of orders.” Q kept typing, not looking up at the screen. “Do not kill the woman. She is the primary target now. Change of orders. Capture but do not harm Gabriel. Kill Tawfeek if you must but keep her safe.”

“Q?”

“Repeat, do not kill Gabriel. Keep her safe.”

“Confirmed.” Bond said calmly.

Q stood up straight and glanced around himself one more time. No one was paying attention to him. He stared at the screens in front of him as he pressed the enter key.

Suddenly the fire alarms started to blare in the department. There was a moment’s hesitation before Q’s entire staff started moving to the doors. The lights switched from their normal bright halogen to a dimmer yellow gold of the emergency lighting.

Bond heard the alarms over the com links.

“Q! What is going on?!”

“MI6 has been breached again. We are under attack. Com links are compromised. Do not make contact with Ravine’s Nest again. REPEAT com links are compromised. Proceed with last orders and Ravine will make contact with you.”

Q pressed another set of keys on his computer and the main computer system of the MI6 shut down. The computer screens when blank then static filled them.

Q moved quickly. He was the last of his team to leave the department. The rest of the building was being evacuated as Q made it to the lobby. They crowd was moving in a steady but shuffling motion. He heard muffled snippets of conversations.

“Is it another bomb?”

“It’s got be a hoax.”

“I knew we weren’t safe.”

“Is it another Silva?”

Q wanted to scream.

He made it out onto the pavement on Albert Embankment. He walked quickly to the tube station. He figured he would have less than three hours before MI6 realized what he had done. After that, the two of them would be fugitives. If they both survived this, he was certain he would kill her himself.

~Q~

Bond heard the sound of alarms coming through the com links. For a brief moment he thought about abandoning his mission and returning to London. Thoughts of Silva and his attack on MI6 came rushing back to Bond. He wondered if it was another attack. Q had stated the com links were compromised. Was it someone trying to blow up the building again? Was Q Branch targeted again? Was Q safe?

He heard the high pitch scream of a woman. “Let go!”

Bond’s attention was immediately drawn back to the amphitheater. Bond dropped the camera and slipped his gun from its holster.

Tawfeek had a gun out and pointed at the woman. His left hand was wrapped tightly around her upper arm. She tried to shake the man off herself, but Tawfeek brought the gun up and pointed it in her face. The woman stilled and stared angrily at the killer. For a moment, Bond admired the woman’s courage but chastised her stupidity for antagonizing the man.

In the distance, Bond heard the droning voice of a tour guild as they led a group of tourists through the gardens. Tawfeek and the woman heard them too. Tawfeek pulled the woman from the amphitheater and deeper into the wooded area on the southeast side of the island. Bond quickly followed.

Bond drew closer to the two people while still remaining hidden behind the trees. He could capture snippets of the conversation between the two.

“You hired me!”

“I don’t work with whores.”

“Bastard!”

Bond moved quickly to intercept the pair. The tour group was getting closer and spectators would only complicate things. He ran forward, then ducked behind another tree trunk as Tawfeek spun to look. The woman twisted out his grip and Tawfeek turned and slapped her hard across her face. She fell to the lawn gasping.

Bond came around the tree and fired once.

Tawfeek was hit in the shoulder. He twisted sideways and blindly shot in Bond’s direction. The bark of the tree splintered by Bond’s head. James twitched slightly as his face was peppered with splinters. He fired again but Tawfeek was moving. He ran deeper into the woods, leaving the woman on the ground.

The woman tried to push herself away as Bond ran up to her and grabbed her elbow. She glanced at him then at his gun.

“He was going to . . . kill me!” The words rushed out of her mouth.

“And if you don’t come with me right now, I will too.” Bond said as he picked her up and pulled her away.

The pair moved through the trees and around the gathering crowd of tourist. Suddenly there was more gunfire. There was shouting and then a woman screamed. Tawfeek had run into the tourist and opened fire on them. Bond moved quickly back to the boat, pulling the frightened woman along with him.

They made it to the boat. Bond pushed her into the passenger seat. He quickly untied the boat and had the engines running before the woman glanced around herself.

“Who are you?” She asked.

“Your guardian angel.”

She laughed weakly. “No you’re not.”

“Well, I am today.”

Bond pulled the boat back out into the lagoon and sped away from the island.


	4. Unexpected Information

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bond and the hacker get to know each other better. While Mallory learns of Q's disappearance.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for the wonderful comments. This is a very plot heavy story and I hope you are going to enjoy it.

M stormed into his office. He had been kept out on the pavement in front of MI6 for over three hours. The fire brigade held everyone back as they did a complete search of the building. Then the military bomb disposal team kept M waiting until a sweep of the building for explosives was done. Nothing was found.

Now MI6 looked like a complete chump before the television cameras and the newspapers. The PM was already calling him for a meeting. He would have to appease the poncy politician without even knowing what had happened.

He glanced down at the desk. Papers and files were still spread across the surface. Important files had been locked away in fireproof safes before the evacuation but too many other files were left out where anyone disguised as a fireman or soldier could have gained access to them.

“Bugger.” M hissed under his breath. It was a complete and total disaster, politically.

Tanner knocked on the open door. Moneypenny had not yet been let back into the building. Every member of staff was going through a search before being allowed in. M glanced up and saw his Chief of Staff standing in the open doorway.

“Well?” M growled.

“It was a computer hack, sir.” Tanner said stepping into the office.

“What was compromised?” M sat down at his desk preparing himself to hear the worse.

“Nothing vital, as far as we can tell.” Tanner said glancing at the tablet in his hand. “The fire alarms and the radioactive alarms were triggered, but there is no indication of either a fire or anything radioactive in the building. The only thing lost was the last two backups for Q Branch computers.”

“Explain.” M said tersely.

“Every ten minutes, any work being done on Q Branch computers is automatically backed up. Everything done in the twenty minutes before the hack is gone.”

“Gone or stolen?” M asked.

“Gone. No indication it ever left our system.”

“What is missing?” M leaned back in his chair. He couldn’t understand why anyone would hack them and take nothing. Why was the building evacuated if no one wanted something inside?

“A schematic from R&D on a new listening device. Two reports on mission readiness of new prototypes, and the last transmission from Bond in Italy.” Tanner explained.

“Have Q look into that.” M said as he turned away, dismissing his aid. M started to shuffle his papers together off his desk.

“Sir, we have a problem there.” Tanner said hesitantly. M glanced up at the man with a raised eyebrow. “Q is missing.”

“Missing? Kidnapped?” M voice took a hard edge.

“It appears he walked out of here on his own volition and then disappeared. We have CCTV of him entering the Tube station but then nothing. The video feeds have been interrupted. Also, his tracker is not working.”

“What do you mean not working? Was it removed?” M asked slowly rising to his feet.

“It would be impossible to remove the tacker except under hospital conditions. Something appears to be jamming it.”

M stepped round his desk and started to pace the office. MI6’s computer system had been compromised and the Quartermaster was missing. The one man in MI6 who had complete and total access to everything electronic in the building. M didn’t want to consider the implications but it would explain the past three and half hours.

He turned back to Tanner. “Alert all branches to be the look out for Q. Order 006 back from Scotland. Holiday is over. I want a complete evaluation of every project Q was working on and every mission. See if there is a pattern of interference leading to treason by the man. Finally, find out what Bond was doing just before Q went rogue.”

“You believe Q went rogue?” Tanner was stunned.

“I don’t want to, but the evidence is pretty damning. Get 006 here as soon as possible. He will be sent to hunt down Q.” M said as he returned to his desk.

“Sir?” Tanner hesitated. Unsure if he had heard M correctly.

“You have your orders . . . go!” M snapped at the Chief of Staff.

Tanner flexed to military attention and marched out of the office, closing the door behind him. Moneypenny was just entering the outer office when Tanner came out of M’s office.

“Bill . . .” She smiled at him.

“Don’t ask question and never admit to me speaking to you about this.” Tanner rushed forward and grabbed Eve’s forearm. “Q is in trouble. Contact Bond though non-MI6 channels find out what happened when he spoke to Q last. Tell him Q is missing and believed to have gone rogue.”

“What?” Eve gasped.

“Just do it!” Tanner turned quickly and left the woman standing alone in the room.

~Q~

Bond steered the boat through the canals and the stream of other boats for over an hour. Constantly checking behind himself that they were not being followed. The hacker sat quietly watching Bond. Occasionally she would glance out at the scenery but her eyes always fell back onto Bond. The sun just at the edge of the horizon when he pulled the small craft up to the water entrance of the hotel. The pavement in front of the Hotel Danieli was already crowded with the revelers dressed for the carnival. Their colorful Renaissance costumes and white emotionless masks, paraded in front of the hotel on their way to St. Mark’s Square. The sound of drumming and cheers carried across the water and through the city.

Bond grabbed the woman by her upper arm and pulled her from the small boat as the valet held the lines. She didn’t put up any resistance or argue with Bond. She didn’t even say anything to the young men standing at the dock for the hotel. As soon as Bond stepped up onto the dock, the valet jumped in the boat.

“I may need it again tonight. Please keep it close.” Bond said to the young man. He glanced quickly to the man’s name tag, Cary Kuntz. The fair skinned valet nodded and slowly pulled away from the dock.

Calmly, Bond and the hacker entered the marbled lobby of the hotel. The gold gilt and baroque architecture of the narrow lobby added to the surreal atmosphere of the Carnevale di Venezia. The feeling of stepping out of time followed them up to the suite Bond was staying in. Only after he opened the door and pushed the young woman into the room, did he let go of her arm.

“Who are you!?” She finally hissed.

“Your guardian angel. Remember?” Bond said as he pulled his gun out and checked it.

The woman noticed the gun and flinched. “I know who my angel is and you are not it.”

“You’re English.” Bond said as he walked around the woman and up to the wall between the two tall windows looking out over the lagoon. He leaned his back against the wall and glanced out the window. He could see the growing crowds of revelers and music was beginning to reach into the room.

“Of course I’m English, what were you expecting?”

“Russian. I can’t call you Gabriel . . . what is your name?”

“Not that it matters but Andy.” She said as she glanced around the room. “Who is Gabriel?”

“Andy?”

“Short for Andrea.” She stepped over to the fire place and looked at the fire tools on the stand. The poker would make a formidable weapon, she thought.

“I’ll shoot you before you are able to grab it.” Bond said as his glance shifted from the crowd outside to the woman inside.

Andy quickly pulled her hand back from the fire poker and glared at him. Bond smiled and reached for his mobile. He was about to type in the number to call Q when he remembered the young man said MI6 had been compromised and to not make contact.

“What do you want from me?” She asked.

“What were you doing with Tawfeek?” Bond asked in return.

“Was that his name?” Andy tried to appear confused. “I was just asking him about the monastery.”

Bond sneered and cocked his head slightly to the side. “Don’t believe for a moment I’m stupid. I know exactly who you are. You’re a hacker who was contacted by a known terrorist. Presumably to supply him with your skills to launch a cyberattack.”

The woman paled even more than her normal fair complexion. Bond stared at her carefully. Her hair was snow white but her eyebrows were dark brown. But her face seemed overly familiar. Bond wondered if he had seen it in a file somewhere before.

“Well, if you know everything already, why ask me.” She pouted.

“I want to know what Tawfeek wanted from you exactly. Have you already supplied him with the information he needed for his attack?” Bond said as he stepped closer to her. No reason the interrogation couldn’t start now, he thought.

Andy took a step back and hit the marble mantle. Her eyes wide but not necessarily in fear. She bite her lower lip and dragged her teeth across it. Again a memory flashed in Bond’s mind. A memory of watching someone else do that exact same thing.

“Look, I get hired to hack into systems. That’s all. He didn’t tell me what he wanted hacked. We were supposed to discuss it once we met. But after he saw I was a woman, he freaked. The misogynistic bastard. I thought he was going to kill me.”

“Well, terrorist are not known for their forward thinking. I’ve yet to meet one who was accepting of individual choices.”

“You seemed to know a lot about them. Does that mean you’re a terrorist too?” Andy asked as she lifted an eyebrow.

“Depending on who you are speaking too . . . yes. All you really need to know is that I am here to save your life. You are alive because of me.” Bond said coolly.

Andy’s mouth curled in a slight knowing smile. “Who would call you a terrorist?”

“My boss and . . . someone I work with. I keep breaking his pretty little toys he gives me.” Bond smiled knowingly. He remembered the camera that now laid broken on the ground back on Isle of San Giorgio Maggiore. The thought of Q criticizing him for another lost piece of tech strangely made him happy.

“Your boss? And who is that?” Andy asked coyly.

Bond narrowed his eyes while he maintained his predatory smile.

“Queen and country.”

Andy’s smiled broaden. She took only a few steps forward before she was standing directly in front of Bond.

“MI5 or is the accent fake?”

“MI6 and accent is real. Now back to Tawfeek . . .”

“Tell me your name.” Her voice dipped. She leaned closer and Bond could smell her perfume. A hint of jasmine and something softer.

“Bond, James Bond.” The smile slowly smoothed his expression as he studied the young woman.

Her eyelashes were dark and long. They fluttered over hazel green eyes. She had sharp cheek bones and full red lips.

“Well, Bond, James Bond, I’m too hungry to answer any more questions.”

Andy’s hands slipped up and rested on his chest. She leaned closer and twisted her face as if to kiss the man. Bond leaned down too, opening his mouth as if to greet her advance. The two remained frozen only centimeters apart. Neither one moving forward nor retreating.

“I’ll order us some room service. I’m famished too. Afterwards, we will discuss Tawfeek.” Bond said but he didn’t move to reach for the phone. He leaned slightly back and way from the woman. He watched as Andy swayed as if being pulled closer to him like a magnet. She blinked her eyes and leaned back to stand up straight. A quick smile came and went from his lips. Sexual interrogation was just as productive as coercive.

“Can I take a shower? I feel itchy after rolling around in the dirt.”

Bond motioned with his head to the door leading into the bedroom. She stepped back and stared at him as he reached for the phone. Room service answered quickly and Bond gave his order in Italian. Andy smiled and turned to walk to the bedroom door. Just as Andy reached the door, Bond slipped his hand over the receiver for the phone.

“There are no doors leading out of that room except for this door and the windows are four stories up from the pavement. Too far for someone to climb out or jump down from.”

Andy turned and glared at the man, narrowing her eyes. She look terribly familiar but Bond couldn’t decide why. He wondered if they had crossed paths before. If they had, it could only have been peripherally, but that wouldn’t cause him to find her gestures and expressions familiar.

“Whatever . . .” Andy closed the door. Bond waited and listen, but she didn’t lock the door.

Bond went back to ordering them dinner. When he had finished, he went to the bedroom door and knocked. There was no answer but he could hear the shower running. He opened the door and saw Andy’s clothes on the bed. He also saw a white wig. Of course, he thought. A subtle change to throw off any one trying to track her.

The food arrived in less than an hour. The two sat at table beside the window watching as the city lit up with the music and pageantry of the Carnevale di Venezia. Bond was still wearing the clothes from earlier in the day. Andy was dressed only in a white terrycloth robe. Her short black hair was still wet and combed back away from her round face. Her long thin pale legs were cross at the knee and exposed to James throughout the dinner. Bond’s eyes kept returning to the limbs, admiring their appearance. Occasionally, his attention was drawn to the collar of the robe where it dipped down low and revealed the pale smooth skin of Andy’s décolletage. He had to keep reminding himself to stay on topic.

“And Tawfeek wasn’t looking for any hacker. He wanted one called Gabriel. He wanted to hack into something important. A planned terrorist attack on the west.” Bond said as he took another sip of his red wine.

Andy shifted uncomfortable in her chair. “I’m not this Gabriel.”

“Are you a hacker?” Bond asked.

“I’m not a terrorist. I prefer to hang around people who are more accepting.”

“You work for terrorists that makes you one.” Bond said without any emotions.

Andy glanced away from Bond. She bit down on her thumbnail. Then she turned and spoke very measuredly.

“Information can be used as a weapon against the unprotected. I just expose the secrets of governments and let the world know about the abuses of those in power.” The words sounded rehearsed.

“Are you trying to tell me you hack into secure databanks for the common man? Don’t make me laugh. You are a thief, a scammer, a hacker. You break the law knowingly. You sell your information to the highest bidder. You are not a freedom fighter. You’re a crook. Now what did Tawfeek want from you?”

Andy twisted away again from Bond. “I told you . . . he didn’t say anything to me. He wanted me dead. How could I be on his side if he wanted to kill me?”

“He contacted you and asked to meet you. Surely you don’t just show up whenever anyone contacts you. What did he say the meeting was about?”

Andy stood up and began to pace around the room. Her thumb nail was being viciously gnawed on.

“It was a job offer . . . someone had heard of me and wanted to make contact.” She said as she finally turned and faced him. “And before you ask, no it wasn’t this Tawfeek who wanted to hire me. It was someone else. Tawfeek was supposed to be the go between. I didn’t know who the actual person was who was trying to hire me.”

Bond stared at the woman for several seconds. If she was telling the truth, then it was a good thing he hadn’t kill Tawfeek. He was going to have to track the man down and use him to get to the actual threat. Andy was apparently a dead end and not going to be able to give them any information. He would have to hold her until MI6 could come and collect her. Andy was sure wanted for other crimes.

Bond’s eyes shifted down to her bare feet and naked calves. His eyes traveled up the white robe to her pale neck and the short dark hair that was now drying into soft curls around her face. It could be morning before he could contact Raven’s Nest again. He smiled.

“If Tawfeek hadn’t been such a sexist, would you have helped him?” Bond asked softly.

Andy stared at him for several heartbeats. “I’m very good at what I do. Better than anyone you would know. I take jobs because they interest me, not because of the money. If he didn’t have an interesting offer, I would have walked away.”

Bond’s laugh was no more than huff of air out of his nose. “I doubt Tawfeek and his boss would have let you live, let alone leave after you turned them down. Part of that male superiority complex. You’ll need protection now.”

“Protection from who?” She raised a seductive eyebrow.

“Terrorists like Tawfeek won’t let you just leave.”

Andy narrowed her eyes and let her lips thin to smile. “Again, you know so much about Tawfeek . . . is that from experience or personal knowledge.”

Bond twisted his chair so he was facing her. “I’ve been called a Neanderthal before.”

“But you work for Queen and country? You must like taking orders from a woman?”

Bond waited a moment then smiled. “I’ve take orders from women before. And depending on the woman . . . occasionally, I’ve enjoyed it.”

“Would you like to tell me what made it enjoyable . . .” Andy stepped closer.

“Now that would be indiscrete. I don’t . . . kiss and tell.” Bond remained smiling.

Andy took a step closer to the man. “I promise not to tell anyone.”

Bond rocked his head side to side for a moment. “And you believe we’ve reached that level of trust?”

Andy was standing in front of Bond. Her bare knees brushed up against his thighs. “I could trust you, couldn’t I?”

Bond looked up at her. “In most things . . .”

Andy grabbed the back of the chair and slowly climbed into Bond’s lap. Her thighs straddling his lap. Bond’s hands came up and steadied the woman as she sat down on him. The robe slipped open and exposed her naked body to him.

“What about important things?” She asked, her voice smoky and dark.

“Always.” Bond whispered back.

Andy bent forward and captured Bond’s mouth. The kiss was warm and smooth. The woman tasted of wine and berries. Bond’s hand slipped under the terrycloth and up against her warm skin. Smooth to the touch. His other hand wrapped protectively around the nape of her neck. Holding her close as his tongue began to map out her mouth.

The knock on the door was sudden. Andy tensed briefly in Bond’s arms.

“Room service, we’ll ignore them.” Bond pulled her closer for another kiss.

There was a second knock, then the door opened.

“Tornate domani.” Bond shouted.

The door opened further and Bond saw Q walk into the suite. Q glanced up and saw the woman sitting in James’ lap and partially undressed. Bond would have laughed at Q’s blush but he was more concerned as to why the Quartermaster of MI6 was in Italy in his hotel suite.

“Ah . . . good evening, Bond.” Q said as he closed the door.

“Q, would you like to tell me why you are here and what is going on?” Bond asked.

Q stepped closer and pulled his messenger bag from his shoulder.

“I’ll tell you after you remove your hands from my sister so she can go get dressed.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tornate domain translate to 'Come back tomorrow.'


	5. Carnevale di Venezia

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A family reunion of sorts.

“I’ll tell you after you remove your hands from my sister so she can go get dressed.” Q glared at Bond and Andy.

Bond froze as he processed what Q had said. ‘ _Sister’_ Bond turned and looked at the woman he was holding. The same curve to the chin, the same full dark lips and the round nose. Dark curls and hazel green eyes. Of course they were related. Of course she was Q’s sister, why hadn’t he seen it before?

Bond grabbed Andy by her waist and lifted her off his lap. Andy was laughing as she tied her robe closed.

“Don’t tell me that I tried to seduce one of your pet again, Andrew.”

Andy smiled. She let her fingers play in Bond’s hair for a few seconds as she seemed to be studying his face.

“He’s definitely your type, Andrew.” She slowly dragged her fingers down Bond’s cheek.

“Blonde? Muscular?” Bond asked.

“Gorgeous and not too bright. Easy to manipulate. The prefect little toy.” She tapped his nose with her index finger.

Q sighed heavily and brought the corners of mouth down in a petulant frown. “Bond is not my toy, sis. He is an operative of her Majesty the Queen. We work together. And I think you will find he is the one who does the manipulating. Now go and put your clothes on!”

Andy bounced across the room and gave Q an exaggerated hug.

“Anything for you, darling brother. But you’ve got to learn to be more relaxed. You’ll give yourself a heart attack.” She kissed Q’s cheek. Then she turned to Bond who was now standing beside the table. “I told you I knew who my guardian angel was and he is it.”

Her smile broadened as she skipped off towards the bedroom to get dressed. Q let his glance follower her out of the room before he turned back to Bond.

“Q, contrary to how it looked, nothing happened between the two of us other than a kiss.” Bond wasn’t sure why he needed to explain himself to the Quartermaster, but for some reason, Bond felt very guilty.

“Bond, my sister is above legal age and within her rights to pursue any man she so chooses. I was just hoping that you could have kept your trousers zipped for more than three hours.”

Q walked over to the table and set his messenger bag down. He glanced as the dinner plates and the half empty bottle of wine.

Bond leaned closer to the young man before he spoke.

“If she is your sister, what was she doing meeting someone like Tawfeek?”

“Andrea is a very good hacker. She goes by the name Archangel. Apparently, there was a translation mistake somewhere between English to Russian to Somali back to English.”

“Did she hack MI6? Did she cause the breach in security?” Bond asked wondering if Q was willing to indict his sister.

Andy walked back into the room wearing her miniskirt and dark jumper. She was holding the wig scrutinizing the two men with a raised eyebrow.

“Well, do I go as a brunette or a blond?” She asked.

James smiled and said deepening his voice, “Brunette, definitely.”

James attention was fixed on the woman. He didn’t notice Q reach into his messenger bag and grab the stun gun. He pressed the two silver points into Bond’s right shoulder and pulled the trigger. There was a snap and Bond grunted as every muscle in his body spasm. The voltage forced Bond to fall to his knees as he fought to remain conscious. His teeth were clenched and his vision burred.

As his mind registered electric shock, he had the sensation of someone shouting and people running. Bond’s body twisted up into the fetal position for several minutes refusing to obey his wishes. When the spasm in his muscle stopped, Bond slowly stretched his body out. The flood of adrenaline in his system made him have a sudden headache and his stomach wanted to revolt and expel the meal he had just eaten. Bond rolled into the crouched position then stood up.

The door to the suite was open, and Q and his sister were gone. Bond rushed to the window and could see the two dark haired individuals blend into the crowd of partygoers. Instinctively, Bond reached for his weapon, check it and immediately followed them. Running down the marble staircase he didn’t waste time with the lift.

Out on the street, the music was loud and the crowds were thick. There was tide of people dressed in period costumes moving towards St. Mark’s Square. Pulling Bond along, he looked at the different faces that were unmasked. If Q and Andy put on one of the Carnevale masks, he would be unable to identify them.

He jumped up as high as he could go, looking over the heads of the crowd. He saw Q glance back at him. The young man’s glasses reflecting the colorful lights of the city. He saw Q grab his sister’s arm and pull her further into the square. Bond took off after them. Pushing his way through the throng of people, he moved closer to the Quartermaster and the hacker.

Suddenly the heavens above them lit up with fireworks. The sound of explosions and the bright hues of reds and greens filled the sky. Bond pushed forward. He jumped up again as another firework explode high above their heads. As he leaped up, Bond noticed the black man with his arm in a sling. Tawfeek. The black man had also spotted Q and Andy. He too was following them into the plaza.

The crowds were now watching the fireworks and not moving forward at all. Bond pushed passed the spectators and closer to Q. He could see Tawfeek was also getting closer. Suddenly the crowds parted and Q was only ten feet in front of him.

“Q!” Bond shouted.

The young man glanced over his shoulder. Bond raised his right hand, his gun resting in his grip. Q twisted around and looked directly at Bond as the crush of people parted as shouts and screams started up. Q’s eyes widened in disbelief. Bond pointed the muzzle directing at Q. Then Bond twist slightly to the side and shot Tawfeek who was standing at the edge of clearing in the mob.

The black man already had his gun up and ready to fire. Tawfeek fired his gun just as he was hit by Bond’s bullet. The man flung his arm out and twisted as he fell into the crowd. A man beside Q fell backwards. More screams and shouts. A stampede began trying to escape the square.

Bond twisted back to see Q and his sister disappear with the other partygoers, running to the edges of the square. Bond gave chase again. He raced behind Q and his sister, keeping them within sight but not closing the distance. In his mind, Bond went through the variety of reasons why Q would be fleeing with his sister. He refused to believe Q was a traitor, but he was escaping with a person who was involved with terrorists. He knew Q could have easily killed him in the hotel room but Q used a nonlethal weapon. The stun gun. If Q wanted Bond dead, the man would be dead. If he wanted him disabled, Bond would still be out cold on the floor of the hotel. No answers came to Bond as he watched Q run up the stairs of one of the small foot bridges over the narrower canals. That’s when he noticed another black man step out of the shadows to block Q’s escape. Q and his sister were panting and glancing around for an exit. Bond came rushing forward, his gun in his hand. The black man with a receding hair line and a full beard smiled as Bond halted right behind Q.

“James . . . we’ve got to quite meeting like this.”

“Felix . . .” Bond took a quick assessment of his surroundings as Felix Leiter attention fixed on Q and his sister.

“So which one of you is Gabriel?” Felix asked.

Bond made sure there was no one paying attention to them, then he brought his fist up hard and fast. Punching Felix on the left side of his face. The man fell backwards over the railing of the small bridge. He made a loud splash as he fell into the black water.

“JAMES!” Felix shouted as Bond grabbed Q’s wrist and started to pull him off the bridge.

Q grabbed his sister’s hand and the three rushed through the dark streets, away for the crowds and the shouting.

“Bond?!” Q gasped as he was dragged along.

“Come with me.” Bond pulled the man by the wrist.

The three ran down the pavement next to the canal. They could hear Felix cursing as he pulled himself from the water. Bond dragged Q and his sister down a street with several different stores. The narrow alleys between the buildings were barely wide enough for one person to walk. They stopped at a locked door. Just before shoving his shoulder into it when Q held out a lock picking set.

“Try these.” Q said with a familiar exasperated tone to his voice.

Bond quickly slipped the two picks into the ancient lock. There was an audible click and then the door opened. Bond waited outside the building for an alarm to go off, but all they heard was the beeping of an alarm countdown. Q pushed Bond aside and rushed forward to the control panel on the wall. He reached into his messenger bag and pulled out a slim flat box with coaxial cable coming out of it. Q popped the cover off the control panel and attached the cable to the terminals of the control panel. Within seconds a number appeared on the screen on the slim box. Q quickly typed in the number and the beeping stopped.

“Alright, we should be safe for a while.” Q sighed and tuned to see Bond’s gun pointed right at his face. “Bond? . . .”

“Hand over the gun, Q.” Bond said quietly. His face still as stone and just as unreadable.

Q hesitated then Bond flicked the lever for the safety on the gun. Andy stepped behind her brother. Her hands resting on Q. Her face barely visible to Bond over the younger man’s shoulder.

“Thumb and fore finger only, Q. Drop it and then kick it over here to me.” Bond said frightfully calm.

Q moved slowly just as he had been instructed. He pulled the weapon from his messenger bag and dropped it on the hard concrete floor. Q lightly kicked it and it traveled the ten feet across the floor to stop at Bond’s feet.

“Alright . . . explanation. Who is she and why are you committing treason for her.” Bond didn’t lower the gun.

Q stared at the barrel and swallowed dryly. “I told you . . . she is my sister. I didn’t know she was involved with Tawfeek but I couldn’t let you kill her.”

“Kill me?!” Andy shrilled. “Why would he kill me?”

“That was the orders. Find Tawfeek and bring him in for questioning. And kill his contact . . . you.” Q said to his sister while he still kept his eyes on the gun.

“What happened back in London? Was there a breach?” Bond asked.

“Yes and no.” Q said in almost a whisper. “When I saw Andy, I panicked. I couldn’t let you kill her. I had access to every system within MI6. I told the computer there was a fire and a radiation leak. It sent MI6 in evacuation mode. Everyone left the building. I also deleted the last twenty minutes of communication I had with you. The audio as well as the visual. There is no evidence that Andy was ever on that island with Tawfeek.”

“Except for me.” Bond said.

“Yes, except for you.” Q nodded his head.

“Were you planning an eliminating me too?”

Q paled in the weak light. “NO . . . I would never . . .” Q bowed his head. “I just wanted to save my sister’s life. I wasn’t thinking anything past that.”

Bond watched as Q reached up and took his sister’s hand from his shoulder. Q twisted and pulled the woman into a hug. Bond could plainly see the similarity between the two of them.

Outside the door, Bond could hear running feet and voices. Some of the phrases were in Italian, some were in English.

“Well, what do we do now, Quartermaster?” Bond asked lowering his gun.

Q released his sister and turned back to Bond. “I will return to London with you and face charges. Just please let her go. Andy can disappear and won’t make the same mistake again about who to take job offers from.”

“Like hell, I’m not going to take you back to be arrested. I’d be a right bastard if I did. Besides, every other agent at MI6 would be out for my blood. No, we’re not going back to England. Not yet. We have a job to do, Q, and it doesn’t include getting your arse thrown in jail.” James shifted his glance to Andy. “You said Tawfeek was fronting for someone else who wanted to hire you . . .”

“Yes, but I don’t know exactly who.” Andy said. She stared at Bond for a moment then smiled. “But if you let me onto my computer I can trace Tawfeek’s through his contacts to me and then back to the boss. I can give you a location where to start looking for them.”

Bond glanced back and forth between the siblings. “Is she that good, Q?”

“The only one better is myself.” The young man smiled.

“As if . . .” Andy snapped.

“We will be on our own. Apparently the Americans want you as well as the British. Are you up for this?”

“Remember . . . I’m more dangerous than you.” Q’s smile broadened.

“Yes, but I believe you said the qualifier was you had to be in your pajamas.”


	6. Leaving Venice

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Q and Andy track down a suspect.

Bond kicked the stun gun back to Q’s feet. The young man looked down at it then back up at Bond.

“If you plan on being dangerous, maybe you should be armed.” Bond smirked.

Q bent down and picked the weapon back up. He slipped it into his messenger bag. Bond slipped his Walther back into its holster.

Bond went back to the door they had entered. He listened. There was still people out on the pavements but no one seemed to be in a panic. Bond opened the door and the three stepped out and mingled in with the crowds. They walked along the canals making a wide circle back to the hotel. It was almost midnight by the time they returned to the suite.

Andy walked in and collapsed on the velvet couch. Q came into the room a little more hesitantly. Bond watched as the young Quartermaster slowly circled the room, glancing from one object to the next.

“Q?” Bond waited till he had the young man’s full attention. “What is it?”

“Why did you agree to help us?” Q sounded even younger than he looked.

Bond glanced over at Andy who already had her laptop out and was scrolling through computer screens. He waved Q to step closer and the young man did so. Bond leaned in to Q. The younger man blushed slightly as he looked into James’ blue eyes.

“Why did you help me when I returned from Mexico City and I asked you to make me disappear?” Bond whispered.

Q blinked slowly, reminding Bond of the cartoon character of an owl.

“You asked me.” Q answered simply. It wasn’t exactly a lie but it definitely wasn’t the truth.

Bond let go a heavy sigh, then glanced sideways at Q’s sister sitting on the couch. His attention returned to his Quartermaster.

“For her I would do nothing, but when you finally answer that question honestly, you will know why I am doing this for you.”

Bond leaned back out of Q’s personal space. His ice blue eyes remained on the younger man for a few more seconds, until Q shook his head and broke free from the hypnotic effect of Bond’s stare. Bond watched as Q’s Adams Apple bobbed as the young man swallowed dryly. Q blinked again and then went to sit down next to his sister. He removed his own laptop from the messenger bag and the two siblings began working to trace the address of the unknown contact.

Bond poured himself another drink then went and sat down opposite the two. As he slowly sipped the liquor he studied the similarities and differences of the two. They were both of equal height with the same dark raven hair. Both had the same wild unkempt look to their curls although Andy’s hair would have been considered short for a woman. Both brother and sister had the same pale flawless skin, but Bond could see the dark shadow of a beard beginning to appear on Q’s face. The same plump red lips were shared by the two. They were dark and red like ripe cherries. Full and youthful. Bond wondered if both set of lips might taste the same.

As Bond watched the two, the angrier he got with himself. It was obvious the two were related. Why hadn’t he seen it before? They both typed rapidly across their computer keyboards. Occasionally speaking in half sentences or abbreviated phrases. He gave up quickly trying to understand the two of them. They were lost in their cyber-world where they preferred to live and he was only an occasional visitor.

It was only an hour later when Andy squealed in joy and wrapped her arms around her brother’s neck.

“Got him!” She shouted.

“Where?” Bond leaned forward in his chair.

“Vienna.”

“Can you narrow it down?” Vienna was a rather large city and Bond needed an address.

“Tawfeek contacted me by email. I back tracked through that contact to his own email contacts and phone calls. I found one number that he called just fifteen minutes before we met on Isle of San Giorgio Maggiore. I found four other calls to the same number before he contacted me.” Andy said.

Q continued for his sister. “The location of the calls are all from Vienna. Not one single place, but we have an email from the same person to Tawfeek, requesting a meeting at the café off of Michaeleplatz across from the Riding School in two days.”

Bond rose and started to pace.

“Most likely to deliver Gabriel to the buyer.” Bond said.

“Maybe not me personally.” Andy said.

Bond and Q glanced at the woman.

“Why not personally.” Q asked as he studied his sister’s face.

“Tawfeek was asking questions about a project of mine.” Andy said unable to look Q in the face.

“Well . . . ?”

“You remember when we were alone . . .”

Q reached for his sister’s wrist and squeezed it tight. He shook his head slightly. Andy stopped talking and glanced at Bond who had seen the subtle request for Andy to stop.

“Q?” Bond asked concerned.

“Nothing Bond, don’t worry.” He looked back to his sister. “When we were younger we did many things.”

“We came up with a code for ransomware.” Andy said.

“Yes but it was flawed.” Q quickly replied.

“I fixed it . . . made it almost impenetrable. That is what he wanted.” Andy said ducking her head.

“Dear lord, Andy . . .”

Bond watched the brother and sister stare at each other. It was if they were is silent communication. Some form of telepathy.

“What does that mean, Q?” Bond slowly retook his seat.

The young man turned and glanced at Bond. The paleness remained as he shook his head.

“When Andy and I were younger, we developed a virus that could lock up anyone’s computer that it was infected with. The owner of the computer would have to pay us a ransom to unlock his computer. We only did it to a few people before . . . before we were caught.” The last few words were whispered.

It didn’t surprise Bond to learn that Q had a criminal element to his history. He was just surprised he was caught.

“I understand about ransomware. Pay the ransom or watch your hard drive melt.” Bond said.

“Not our code. The ransom had to be paid or the individual’s complete computer history would be exposed. We only picked out victims who we knew would rather pay the money than have their secrets exposed. We were relatively successful until we accidentally hacked into a government black op that was supposed to be disguised as a money laundering scheme. We were caught by MI5.” Q laced his fingers with Andy and squeezed his hand tight. “We were separated. While I was locked up, M found me and made me an offer.”

“How old were you?” Bond asked. He leaned forward in his chair. The first time MI6 contacted him, he was in his late twenties. He had teased the younger man of being too immature but how old was he really when he was first introduced to espionage?

“Sixteen.” Andy and Q said simultaneously.

“Sixteen and you were arrested?”

“Yes . . .” Q continued the story alone. “Our parents died when we ten. We were both put into ‘care,’ but in separate homes. It took me a year to find Andy. I ran away first and helped her to escape later. We were living on the streets for a while before we started blackmailing people. We made up fake names and histories and eventually we had a place to live and we only took as much money as we needed to get by. Then MI5 found us. We were separated again.”

“Your education?” Bond knew that Q was intelligent and was positive he had been to university.

“I met Olivia Mansfield while I was incarcerated. She promised me an education and a life outside of prison if I agreed to spend the rest of my life working for MI6. It wasn’t that hard of a decision.” Q said. He glanced at his sister. “Andy remained in prison for another five years. I worked as hard as I could to get her out and finally she was released. M didn’t want Andy so she went freelance.”

“And you’ve been selling this code to the highest bidder?” Bond asked as he glared at the young woman.

“No!” Andy almost shouted. “It is mine. My property. I sell myself.”

Bond raised an eyebrow at the remark.

“Get your mind out of the gutter, 007.” Q snapped.

“I sell what I can do with the code. Say you want information of a business competitor. You hire me and I use my code to gain that information while I also extorting money from the person whose computer I’ve hacked and uploaded the code on.”

“Surely the code is traceable. People have got to know it’s you who is doing it.” Bond said trying to keep up the two of them.

“No, the code self-destructs when the computer hard drive releases all the information on it to the internet. When Sony was hacked a few years back. That was me. No one knew who did it but they refused to pay me and so every script, every email, every form of correspondence was released. It caused millions of dollars’ worth of damage. I was only asking for half a million in ransom.”

“Tawfeek wanted this code from you?” Bond asked now slipping the pieces together.

“Yes.”

“And he was to give it to another individual in Vienna?”

“That is what it looks like.” Q said and looked back down to his computer screen.

Bond stood up suddenly. “Then we need to go to Vienna and track down this unknown terrorist and stop him. It is obvious he wanted the code to hack into government computers. Release all the information. They could over throw governments.”

“Just what the terrorists want . . . the west in complete disarray.” Q said softly understanding the ramifications of anyone getting hold of his sister’s code. “We need to stop them.”

“We can catch the train and be in Austria tomorrow.” Bond went to the bedroom and started to pack his few belongings.

“What about MI6? Aren’t you going to report in with this information?” Q asked.

“Why? They are used to me going silent. I’m sure they are too busy to worry about little old me.” Bond smiled as he watched Q roll his eyes.

“True, if you ever did actually follow protocol they might believe you’ve been captured and forced to call in.”

The three people grabbed their cases and bags and left the suite.

“There is a train leaving for Vienna in forty minutes from the Santa Lucia train station. I’ve booked us a first class compartment.” Q said as Bond pressed the button for the lift.

“Very good,” Bond said as he glanced up and down the hallway. The hairs were standing on the back of his neck. Something was off but he couldn’t put his finger on it.

Despite the gun shots and murder in the square, the Carnevale was still going on. The streets were still crowded and the lobby was too. There were dozens of people dressed in Renaissance clothing. Dark satin and gold braids. Women and men both were wearing large hats with brightly colored feathers. The stark white masks were being worn by everyone. Some were decorated with gold and silver accents but most were simple emotionless white facades. They made Bond uneasy.

Bond pushed his way through the crowd in the lobby and out to the water entrance for the hotel. He handed the valet the claim check for the boat. Q and Andy huddled close to Bond as the crowd got louder. Music and laughter poured out of the hotel and on to the pavement and over the water. Bond scanned the crowd again looking for anyone paying too much attention to the three of them.

The boat pulled up to the edge of the pavement and two of the valets grabbed the bow and stern lines, holding the boat in place. The young black man jumped out of the boat and James glanced at the man’s name tag. Cary Kuntz. James looked back up into the man’s face. It wasn’t the same face from earlier in the day.

He glanced at the black man’s shirt. It was the same color as the other valets but not the same style. Also the man’s trousers were the wrong shade of brown.

Q and Andy were already getting into the boat when Bond twisted and tossed his bag into the front seat. He then turned and punched the black man as hard as he could. The stranger fell backwards. The gun he had covertly removed from his belt clattered on the ground.

Bond jumped into the boat and revved the engines. Andy and Q were thrown back into the floor of the boat as Bond jammed the throttle open. The two men who had been holding the stern and bow lines were pulled into the water.

The man Bond had punched pulled himself up to his knees. The gun was back in hands and he fired wildly. Bond stared to swerve the small craft in the narrow canal. The fiberglass side skidded along the ancient stone embankment. The boat screeched as it scrapped along the walls. The man shot again and again. Bond couldn’t go any faster in the narrow dark canal. He swerved to avoid the traffic of other boats while bullets buzzed passed them like angry lethal insects.

It only took four minutes for the boat to be safely away from the hotel but it seemed like an hour. The cold night air chilled the sweat on Bond’s face and neck. He slowed the boat down and sailed it safer through into the city’s larger canal. He glanced back to see if they were being followed but no other boats seemed to be racing through the black water.

“ANDY!” Q’s scream cut through the night.

Bond looked over his shoulder and at his Quartermaster. Q was sitting on the deck of the small boat. His sister was laying across his lap. Blood was spattered up across her pale face.

Bond pulled the boat over to the side and killed the engines. He rushed back and knelt down beside Q. The deck was slick with blood. The woman’s black sweater was soaked with it.

“ANDY!” Q cried out again.

The woman raised her hand up and gently drew her fingers down Q’s cheek. A smear of red was left on Q’s cheek.

“My angel . . .” she breathed then went limp in Q’s arms.

Bond didn’t need to ask if she was dead. Q curled over her body and pulled her tight to himself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Andy turned out to be a more interesting character than I expected to write. I'm sorry I killed her off so soon but it was to further the story along.


	7. The Train Between Venice and Vienna

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bond escapes Venice with Q.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Poor Q has to deal with his sister's death. And Alec will be in the next chapter.

Bond moored the boat a short distance from the train station. He practically had to pull Q away from his dead sister. The young man was barely able to walk by the time they reached the train. Bond shoved Q in the reserved first class compartment of the RailEuro train as other passengers sought out their seats. He pushed Q down onto the bed that was already folded down from the wall and prepared for the night. Q gave no resistance to the agent. His face was blank and his eyes were dull.

Bond locked the door to the compartment then tossed his suitcase and Q’s messenger bag on the upper bunk. He glanced around the first class train compartment checking to see that everything was normal. He went into the tiny bathroom and yanked one of the flannels neatly folded off the shelf. He wet the cloth in the sink then came back out and knelt in front of Q.

Taking one of Q’s hands he started to wipe the dried blood off. Q glanced down at his palm as Bond slowly cleaned his sister blood from him. His whole body shuddered as he took in a deep breath through his nose and gasped.

“Andrea!” Q shouted.

Bond immediately pushed himself up on his knees and wrapped a hand over Q’s mouth.

“Q . . . stop it!” Bond whispered harshly.

Q’s hazel eyes fixed on Bond’s. The pupils of Q’s eyes were wide. He was shivering and his skin felt cold to Bond. Bond pushed himself up off the floor and onto the bed to sit next to Q.

“Why did we leave her?” Q asked. His voice was brittle as glass.

“It was for the better, Q.” Bond wrapped his arms around the young man.

It was the first time Bond ever held the boffin. Bond could feel the points and edges of bones under the lean body. A wave of protectiveness flooded over Bond. To care for and shield the young man. He was naturally protective of those in his charge but never before had he felt this way about someone else from MI6. The only other person who had come close to this feeling of needing his protection was his M, Olivia Mansfield. But Mansfield was assertive and determined to the very end. She would never had shattered like Q was doing.

“I’m going to be sick.” Q said pushing himself out Bond’s arms.

Q rushed to the small bathroom attached to the first class compartment. He fell to his knees and vomited into the toilet. All that came up was bile, but that didn’t stop Q from retching again and again.

The train whistled twice then the car lurched forward. Slowly the train pulled out of the station and moved away from Venice and Q’s dead sister.

Bond stepped to the open door way of the tiny room and took down one of the hand towels. He wet it in the sink and gently draped it over Q’s neck. After a few minutes and Q retching a few more times, the boy stopped and wiped his face with the towel. The young man rested his forehead across his arm propped up on the edge of the toilet.

“Why was it better to leave her? I don’t understand?”

Bond wondered if Q had ever said that he didn’t understand something before in his life. Q was always one step ahead of everyone else. He was one of the most intelligent people Bond knew. Bond doubted there was anything the young man didn’t understand.

“The police will find her and take care of her until you can return to collect her. When this done, you can come back to Italy and claim the body then you can have her buried wherever you like.”

Q nodded his head then pulled himself up off the floor. He sat down on the edge of the toilet and looked up at Bond. The agent couldn’t get over how young and helpless the man looked. He filled a glass with water and handed it to Q. Then Bond prepared a toothbrush for Q.

“Here, brush your teeth. It will help to get that taste out of your mouth.”

Bond stepped back into the small compartment and glanced around for a moment. Q brushed his teeth and spit again in the sink. Bond was right, it did help him but he still felt sick and useless. He rinsed out his mouth one more time.

Bond was standing in the middle of the small room when Q came out of the bathroom. For a short moment Q stood in the doorway watching Bond. He wanted to forget; he needed to forget. Anything had to better than the memory of Andy’s dead face.

His eyes fixed on Bond’s, then he stepped forward quickly and wrapped his arms around the agent, pulling Bond in for quick messy kiss. Instinctively, Bond reacted. He placed his hands on Q’s hips and pulled the young man closer as he returned the kiss. The smooth caress of a tongue against his lips. The taste of mint. The warmth of a body next to his.

Then he stopped.

Bond pushed the young man back. Q tried to lean forward and reconnect with Bond.

“You don’t want this,” whispered Bond.

“Yes, I do.”

“No, you don’t. You want to forget, to quit thinking . . . you don’t want to have sex.” Bond held Q back.

“Don’t tell me what I want or don’t want. All those years of flirting . . . are you telling me you don’t want it too.” Q pulled on Bond’s shoulders to bring him closer. Bond allowed himself to be pulled back flush with Q’s body but still refrained from kissing the younger man.

“No, I can’t tell you I don’t want you . . .” Bond kissed Q’s forehead, then his eye lid, then the other. He moved down to kiss Q’s mouth but paused when he was a hair’s breath away. “But you don’t want it now.” Bond’s lips brushed across Q’s as he spoke. He leaned backed and looked Q directly in his red eyes. “It would be worse if we did. You need to grieve now.”

Q stared at the man for just a few seconds till he broke down and burst into sobs. Bond pulled Q close. The young man buried his face into Bond’s shoulder as he cried. Carefully, Bond maneuvered them both to the lower berth. Laying them down with Q still clinging to him. He reached over and pushed the button that turned off the lights in the train compartment. Q wrapped himself around James’ body as he wept.

James brought his hand up and slowly started to drag his fingers through Q’s hair. He found it softer than he imagined. Slowly he slipped his hand down Q’s back again and again; like he was petting a cat. James laid there thinking about the young man in his arms.

Bond was willing to bed practically anyone if it was for a mission, but he did have a preference. Gender didn’t really play into it. Male or female he didn’t actually care, but he did place intelligence above all else. He wanted someone who could challenge him intellectually and if there was anyone who routinely challenged him, it was Q. He also appreciated beauty. Beautiful was the only word that perfectly described Q’s looks. His dark wild curls over the oval face. The large hazel eyes and the dark puffy lips. Q was more ethereal than masculine but still quite physical. Long lean lines of smooth skin over tight muscles that reacted with the certainty of runner or a dancer.

James licked his own lips thinking about the impromptu kiss Q had given him. It surprised the man. Q, for all of his awkwardness and grief, was one bloody good kisser. Bond smiled briefly as he remembered. Then he felt slightly adrift thinking there was no way Q would ever kiss him again. It was an act of desperation that pushed Q into his arms. And that would be the only time he would feel those lips on his. The only time he would hold the young man in his arms. Bond felt a little sad even as he enjoyed the warmth of Q laying next to him.

Again, instinctively, Bond twisted and kissed the top of Q’s head. The dark soft hair tickled his cheek as he did. Bond realized Q’s body had stopped shivering and the soft sobs had been replaced by deep and slow breathing. Q was asleep in James’ arms. For the first time and probably for the last.

~Q~

Q woke at the sound of someone knocking. He blinked his eyes and tried to work out why the bed seemed to be moving. It took him far too long to remember he was on a train. He twisted around on the bed to look for his glasses. They were sitting on a table. Q sat up and put them on, then regretted it.

The first thing he saw was James coming out of the little bathroom with only a towel wrapped around his naked body, low on his hips. The lower half of Bond’s face was covered with shaving cream and his hair was still damp from a shower.

Bond opened the compartment door, and a porter stepped in holding a tray of food. The man hesitated next to the table till Q realized his phone was on it. Q grabbed his phone and apologized as the man set the tray down. There were two full plates of eggs, bacon, toast and grilled tomatoes. There was also a carafe of coffee and one that appeared to be tea.

“Grazie,” Bond said as he subtly gave the young porter a tip.

Bond returned to the bathroom and continued to shave his face.

“Where are we?” Q asked with his head resting in his hands. He didn’t want to open the curtains and look out.

“Italian Alps. We should be out of them soon and into Austria. We’ll be in Vienna late in the afternoon. How do you feel?”

“Awful.” Q said as he glanced up again to get another glimpse of a near naked Bond. Q quickly licked his lips.

“Eat something. It will help.” Bond said as he finished shaving and splashed water on his face to remove the residual soap.

“I don’t have a hangover, Bond.” Q said petulantly.

Bond laughed. “I know, but eat something anyway.”

Q felt queasy. He wondered if he was going to vomit again.

Bond stepped out of the bathroom and over to the table. He raised the blind on the window and a snowy white landscape came into view. Bond grabbed one of the carafes and pour a cup. Q closed his eyes. Bond was within two feet of him and only in a towel. He could feel his pulse rate begin to climb.

“Q.” Bond said, making the young man jump and look up at him.

Bond held his hand out with an offered cup. Q took it and then looked away.

“Drink it, then try to eat something. I need you functional when we get to Vienna. I went through your messenger bag. You don’t have any other clothing than what you were wearing. We’ll stop and get you something before we do anything else. I don’t think what you are wearing will withstand Austria in February.”

Q took a sip then wondered how Bond knew how to prepare his tea perfectly. He took another long sip and sighed.

“I wasn’t planning on a holiday. I was just trying to get to . . .” He paused as he thought about his dead sister. “I just wanted to stop you.”

Bond turned away and pulled the towel from his waist. Between public school, the military, and MI6, Bond had lost all inhibitions. Q got a full view of Bond’s body completely naked from the back. Q felt his face go red as he took another long drink of his tea. He quickly moved his glance to the mountains and trees sweeping passed the window.

“We can make the meeting with Tawfeek’s contact at the café tomorrow, but how are we going to know who it is?” Bond asked as he turned around.

Q glanced back to see the man was already dressed in the trousers and was buttoning his shirt. Bond tucked the tail of the shirt in his trousers and buttoned the waistband closed.

“You’re the spy . . . I thought you had a secret way of telling who the bad guys were and who wasn’t.”

“It doesn’t always works that way.” Bond said as he poured a cup of coffee for himself. “Now put your phone down and eat something.”

Q glanced down at the mobile phone that was still in his hand. He suddenly realized the phone had run out of charge and was dead. That meant the jammer he had placed on his phone wasn’t working and the tracker that was surgically implanted in him wasn’t being blocked.

Q jumped out of the bed and quickly rummaged around in his messenger bag for the charger cord. He fumbled as he tried to connect the phone to the cords.

“Q? What’s wrong?” Bond asked as he watched the frighten Quartermaster dash around the small compartment.

“Nothing . . .” Q lied. “I just let my phone run down.”

“Were you planning on calling anyone?”

“No.” Q got the phone plugged into the electrical outlet.

He looked up at the confused look on Bond’s face. He wondered if he should tell the man. Bond already knew he was on the run from MI6 but they were working to complete Bond’s mission. Would Bond force Q to stay with him or would he allow Q to escape? Where could Q escape to while they were on the train?

“I just don’t like to let my tech run low on power.” That wasn’t a lie.

Bond smiled at the young man and handed him a piece of toast. “Eat, Q.”

Q took the toast and slowly nibbled at it.

~Q~

Frost covered London when the black saloon pulled in front of Gareth Mallory’s home. Tanner was already in the backseat of the car when the chauffeur opened the door for Mallory to climb in. Tanner was tapping away on the laptop that was perched on his knees.

“Okay, let’s begin.” Mallory said as the car pulled away from the kerb.

Tanner updated Mallory on every on-going mission for MI6. He reviewed the whereabouts of every double ‘O’ presently out of the county, except one.

“Where is Bond?” Mallory asked.

“He hasn’t reestablished contact yet. But Q Branch discovered several images of Bond in St Mark’s Square last night.” Tanner handed over several color, and black and white photos of Bond rushing through the crowds. There were two photos of him with his gun drawn and shooting Tawfeek.

“Where did these come from?” Mallory asked.

“CCTV as well as social media.” Tanner said perfunctory.

“Just great. Another international incident involving 007 being photographed. Wasn’t he was supposed to capture Tawfeek not kill him.”

Tanner didn’t answer the rhetorical question. Instead he said. “Bond’s credit card was used to buy three train tickets to Vienna but we don’t know if he bought them or if his card was stolen.”

“Three tickets?” Mallory raised an eyebrow.

“Yes, exactly. There was a second incident later in the evening involving Bond. Shots fired at the hotel he was staying in. No further information available just yet. Q Branch is trying to reconnect with him.”

Tanner’s mobile rang and man immediately answered it. Tanner began typing wildly on his laptop while he continued to speak on the phone.

“Are they sure? . . . How long was it signaling? . . . Where? . . . Keep me informed.” Tanner disconnected the call, the turned to Mallory. “Q’s tracker turned on for two hours. We have a location for him.”

“Where?” Mallory leaned forward. The Quartermaster had been missing for nearly twenty-four hours.

“It was picked up in Tarvisio Italy and lost at Arnoldstein, Austria. Just over the border from Italy. The signal lasted just under two hours. He was traveling east.”

Mallory frowned as he stared at Tanner for a moment. “The photos of Bond, let me see them again.”

Tanner handed the photos back to his boss. Mallory shuffled through them till he found one taken by someone in the crowd. Mallory glanced past Bond and studied Tawfeek. He could plainly see that Somali’s gun was not pointed at Bond but someone else. Mallory picked up another photo at a greater distance from Bond and Tawfeek. There on the edge of the photo was a dark haired man running with a dark haired woman. Mallory studied the man for a moment till he noticed the black framed glasses.

He turned the photo for Tanner to see. Pointing at the man running on the edge of the photo.

“Q?” Tanner asked.

“Q!” Mallory grumbled. “For some reason, Bond and the Quartermaster have joined forces in Italy and are now traveling to Vienna.” Mallory leaned back in the leather seat. “Well, at least now we have a location to send 006 to.”


	8. Go and Kill a Friend

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alec receives his mission from M. Q explains his past with his sister, Andy. Q has a sad story to tell about his sister and himself. And Bond is starting to have more than just protective urges towards Q.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for the wonderful comments. They really do help.

Alec Trevelyan was sulking while waiting in M’s outer office. He had been pulled away from an epic pub crawl in Edinburgh and he didn’t know why. If he had been called back for some ridiculous mission that a field agent could handle he was going to toss Tanner out the window, damn the consequences. He was still slightly drunk but was able to hide it from Moneypenny as she sat typing away at her computer. She picked up her mobile and glance at the text messages she had received and frowned.

“Why doesn’t your shadow answer his texts?” Eve Moneypenny snapped at Alec.

“My what?” Alec felt like he was starting a conversation in the middle. Maybe he was more drunk than he realized.

“Bond . . . I’ve been trying to warn him for the last eighteen hours and he hasn’t returned my messages.”

Alec slumped lower in the chair. His pout turned to a scowl. If he had been called back from Scotland to sort out James, he was going to throw both Tanner and James out the window.

The door opened and Mallory stepped into his office from the hallway. He didn’t acknowledge Eve but waved at Alec.

“006, in here now!”

Tanner rushed in behind M ignoring the other two people in the office. Alec stood and glanced at Eve. She just shrugged her shoulders.

“I don’t think it is you this time.” She said but that didn’t fill the operative with confidence.

Alec walked into M’s office and stopped in front of the man’s desk. He pulled himself to attention, eyes forward and hands at his side. He waited for the older man to speak.

M sat down and glanced up at Trevelyan at full attention. “Sit down, damn it.” Mallory barked.

Mallory looked Alec over while he sat down, slowly assessing his fitness for a mission. There was bruise on the right side of Alec’s face. Dark and fresh. Alec’s eyes were red and puff. M also noticed the bruised knuckles on both of Alec’s hands.

“How many?” M asked.

“It was a rugby team, M.” Alec answered, assuming the question was ‘ _how many people did he brawled with?’_

“Fifteen men? By yourself?” M raised an eyebrow.

“No, I’m sure there was at least two or three on my side.” Alec smiled.

M remained leaning forward in his chair as Tanner handed Alec a file. The seven centimeter tall letters stamped in red ink, ‘Ultra Clearance’, glared out at the man. Alec quickly returned to mission readiness. He opened the file and saw the black and white photos, full front and both profiles, of the Quartermaster.

“Is this a joke?” Alec asked.

“No.”

Alec blinked and returned his attention to the file.

“Yesterday, while Q was communicating with 007 who is on a mission in Venice, he triggered the fire and radioactive alarms within MI6 for some reason. He then deleted the conversation he had with Bond. While the building was being evacuated, Q left and disappeared.” Tanner explained.

“Disappeared or was kidnapped?” Alec asked.

“Disappeared, probably going rogue. He is purposefully jamming the tracker that is embedded in him. It started transmitting for two hours this morning while he was traveling from Italy to Austria. Apparently with Bond.”

“Does Bond know that Q has gone rogue?”

“We have lost contact with him. He has not checked back in and he went off mission too. We don’t know if Q told him to change the parameters of the mission or if Bond is just being Bond again.” M said.

“Where did the signal for Q say he was?” Alec asked.

“We believe he is with Bond and on their way to Vienna.” Tanner answered.

“Vienna? When do I leave?”

“Today. Familiarize yourself with that file. It is not to leave this office. Q can not be allowed to fall into our enemies’ hands. You are to capture Q but if you can’t return him to MI6 alive . . .” Tanner hesitated and glanced at M.

“Kill him.” M said.

~Q~

The reception desk of the Hotel Altstat is on the first floor of a hundred year old building that used to be individual owned flats. Each room of the Hotel Altstat was decorated by a different designer so no two rooms were similar in their trendy décor. Bond and Q’s hotel room was on the third floor of the five story tall building. The narrow double doors opened into the small air space between the hall and the room. Another set of narrow double doors opened into the large room papered with dark grey and silver walls and accented with shadowed mirrors. The far wall was a bank of windows that looked out over the city to the west. There was a small seating area, with a desk, under a large portrait. The portrait was a blonde boy in black velvet cap with a white feather and a black Renaissance velvet pleated jacket. Opposite the seating arrangement was a double bed with white duvet.

Q came into the room with his arms laden with bags from one of Bond’s favorite clothing stores. Bond had insisted Q buy several outfits. Q, although, was completely indifferent to the clothes shopping. His mind still locked on his dead sister. Q dropped the bags on the bed and slowly turned in a circle looking at the room, finally stopping to stare at the oversize portrait hanging on the wall over the grey suede couch.

Bond watched Q as he slowly took in the room. The younger man’s face was emotionless and his hazel eyes had been vacant since he had woken on the train earlier that day.

“Not my choice of rooms but it was what was available. The hotel is perfectly located.” Bond said as Q continued to stare at the youth in the portrait.

“No, no, I’m sure it’s fine.” Q blinked as he turned to look at Bond. “Ah, one bed.”

“Yes, I’ll sleep on the couch.”

Q glanced at the lumpy designer couch. His eyebrows knitted together then glanced back at Bond.

“No, Bond, it’s not like we haven’t shared a bed together before. Remember last night.” Q said.

Bond wondered how much of the previous night Q remembered. He wondered if remembered the kiss. Bond had. He thought about it for several hours as Q slept in his arms.

There was no definable way Bond could calculate how many kisses he had shared in his life but there were several that he would always remember. The first kiss he received from Vesper Lynn and the last he gave her lifeless body. The first time he had kissed Alec Trevelyan when they had returned from a mission while in the navy. The last kiss his mother gave him before she went to Switzerland never to return. And the kiss he received from Q as the young man was physically sick from losing his sister.

Definitely not the best kiss he had ever received but one he would probably always remember. It surprised him how the simple brushing of lips together had stirred something in him he never recognized before. Something he never wanted to acknowledge but there it was. And now there was a small light on it, exposing the emotion for Bond to see. He had feelings for the Quartermaster.

Not just the friendly camaraderie that he had portrayed for the past few years but something deeper. Something more primitive and needy. Something that made his heart beat a little faster and made his soul a little more human. After the death of his M, Bond had shut himself off from his feelings. He had made himself a machine and indifferent to emotions. Even his tryst with Madeline Swann had been short lived for the reason he couldn’t allow the hard shell around him to crack. But somehow in that small railroad compartment, Q in his awkward and inexperience way, had put a hairline crack in the armor. He had opened a weakness in Bond and suddenly Bond felt more than a protective nature to the young man, he felt desire.

“We’ll decide who sleeps where when it comes time.” Bond said as he turned away from Q. Bond was good at hiding his tells in poker but he didn’t know if he could hide this tell from Q.

“Bond, don’t be silly. It’s not like there is any reason to think we can’t sleep together.” Suddenly Q blushed. “I mean we can sleep together in the same bed . . . just sleep . . . nothing else.”

“Q, I know what you are trying to say. Come on, it’s late and we should get some dinner. You look like you are about to fall over.” Bond said as he stepped close to young man.

Q blushed again and slowly blinked his eyes. Bond felt an overwhelming need to wrap his arms around the young man and hold him tight. It took most of his internal strength to stop himself.

~Q~

The restaurant was small and only a few blocks away from the hotel. Soft creams and candlelight were used to decorate the restaurant. The tables were small, seating arrangements in only twos and threes. It was an intimate dinner with excellent food.

Bond and Q sat at a table in the back of the restaurant. Bond sat where he could keep an eye on the front door and the door leading to the kitchens.

Q was sipping the red wine when Bond asked the question. “Tell me about you and your sister. Why was she working for criminals?”

Q coughed a little and quickly wiped his mouth with the linen napkin.

“We were twins.” Q started. Bond nodded his head. The similarities were remarkable between Q and his sister. “We were very close. Then our parents died. Automobile accident. We were ten. We were both put into care but in separate houses. Different families. It took me a year to track her down then another year before we could run away together. By the time we were fifteen we had been living on the streets for three years. That is when we started hacking into computer systems to get by. We were sixteen when we were caught.”

Q paused and took another sip of wine. Bond wanted to reach out and take Q’s hand. Q glanced around and sighed.

“We were separated again. Then M came to me. She found me in prison and made me an offer. It wasn’t much of a choice. I was small and weak. I was passed around the prison for packs of cigarettes. I jumped at the chance.” Q’s voice broke slightly. Bond could see a slight shiver in Q’s body. “I don’t know why I’m telling you all this.”

“Because you need to talk to someone you trust.” Bond said softly. He had an overwhelming need to kill everyone who had abused Q when he was younger. Q glanced up surprised for a moment then nodded his head. “You asked M to help Andrea but she refused.”

“M said she only needed one computer genius. She would only pay for one of us. So while I was at university, my sister was washing dishes in the prison cafeteria. Andy was left in jail until she was twenty-one. She got out and I paid for her to go to school. But it was too late by then. She wanted to stay on the wrong side of the law. We fought and . . . well she disappeared two years later. That is when Archangel appeared and I knew it was her. She was responsible for numerous hacks over the years and I feared she was working for the Russians.”

“Did you try to stop her?”

Q gave a weak laugh and started to play with the silverware on the table.

“I tried to contact her though the internet several times. But . . .” he sighed and looked up at Bond. His hazel eyes were red and on the verge of crying. “She was stubborn.”

Bond reached for Q’s hands and wrapped his own around the young man’s. He squeezed slightly and leaned closer to whisper.

“Stubbornness runs in your family. She loved you, you know. She called you her guardian angel.”

Q gave another aborted laugh and a tear slipped from his eye. James brought his hand up and cupped Q’s cheek. His thumb gently wiped the tear away.

“We didn’t have enough time together and so much was taken away from us.” Q said. He leaned into James’ touch.

“Then remember what you had as being that more precious. Don’t waste time on ‘what might have been’ and cherish what you have.”

Q ducked his head and pulled his hands into his lap.

“Bond, I want to leave.”

James pulled his hand back and waved to the waitress. He quickly paid the bill and pulled Q out into the cold night air. It was still freezing but the two decided to walk back to the hotel. They needed the silence and cold.


	9. Vienna

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bond and Q meet the contact.

Michaelertor was a large building made of limestone and baroque grandeur. Large imposing statues flanked either side of the white stoned building and harkened back to the days of the Emperor. Tourists wandered through the arched portals and marveled at the splendor of the renowned Spanish Riding School. Horse drawn carriages lined the street around the entrance of the public buildings waiting to take the tourists on a sight-seeing tours of Vienna.

The ‘L’ shaped café took up two sides of the building across from the famed Spanish Riding School. The café was old with heavily varnished wood and tall glass windows. The tables were small and intimate; made of white marble with cast iron pedestals. It was late afternoon but the café was still busy. The Viennese enjoyed a more relaxed attitude towards business meeting and dinning. Again, Bond picked a table that had good view of the three doors entering the café and the door leading to the kitchen. He walked Q passed the large glass fronted display case with the variety of tantalizing pastries. Sitting down with Q pushed securely into the corner.

“How are you going to know who is our contact?” Q asked after they had ordered coffee.

Bond glanced around the restaurant then shrugged. “I’m hoping they are looking for us. We’ll have to wait and see.”

Just before the bells in the Minoritenkerche rang out the hour of five, two men opened the antique door of the café. The two men stepped into the restaurant and glanced around. Bond saw them first. He shifted slightly in his chair and removed his gun from its holster and rested it on his right thigh, covertly hiding it under his linen napkin. Q noticed Bond’s movement and quickly scanned the other customers. He immediately recognize one of the men who had entered. It was the black man from the Hotel Danieli who had been shooting at them. He was the man who had killed Andy.

The black man lightly laid his hand on his companion’s arm and nodded to the table that Bond and Q were sitting at. The two men started walking towards Bond and Q. The black man was wearing a dark grey suit with a royal blue shirt and black tie. The other man was blonde and deeply tan with watery blue eyes. He wore a pale grey suit with a white shirt and a red tie.

Bond knew Q recognized the black man. With his eyes fixed on the two men approaching them, Bond whispered to Q.

“Don’t show a thing. Don’t let them know you want to kill them.”

Q fought to control himself. He had spent years watching the agents in situations like this and considered their controlled demeanor as natural. Now that he was forced to do it, he realized how bloody difficult it was. He placed his hands in his lap and made two fists, digging his fingernails into the skins of his palms.

“Guten tag.” The blonde man greeted Bond.

Bond slow nodded his head. “Hallo.”

“May we join you?” the blonde asked.

“Bitte.” Bond waved to the other two seats at the table.

The two men sat down and glanced around them. The waitress returned with Bond and Q’s coffees. She took orders from the other two men and quickly left them alone.

“You must be Archangel.” The blonde said looking at Q.

“What makes you think he is the computer expert and not me?” Bond asked coldly.

“Forgive me but you appear to be more the hired help instead of the intelligence.” The blonde said.

Bond began to shift in his chair but Q grabbed his left forearm and held him back.

“Yes, I am Archangel. Why was your go between referring to me as Gabriel before?” Q calmly asked.

Bond could feel Q’s shaking slightly through his touch. He hoped the other two men didn’t notice.

“It was a grievous mistake. Translation error. Please forgive us.” The blonde said.

“I might if I knew who I was actually speaking too.”

“Forgive me again. Peter Franks.” The blonde held his hand out but neither Q nor Bond took it. He pulled it back with a frown. “This is Asad.” He indicated the black man.

“Now explain to me why Tawfeek tried to kill me.” Q practically growled.

“It was the whore that Tawfeek was trying to kill.” The black man leaned forward and glared at Q. “What was she doing there? We were told that we would meet with Gabriel.”

Q glared at the man. “You couldn’t even get the name correct. What were you doing there in Italy?”

“Tawfeek was my friend. Your man there killed my friend.”

“And you shot my sis . . . associate. My very talented associate. Insane zealots are easy to replace. Talented hackers are not.”

Asad stood up quickly disrupting the table. Bond and Q’s coffee cups were knocked and coffee splashed across the veined marble table.

“I shall kill you!” Asad shouted.

People in the café turned to see the man shout. Bond glanced around briefly then back to the angry Somali. Franks patted Asad’s arm and sighed.

“Quit making a fool of yourself. This isn’t some camel watering hole. You are in Austria, acted civilized.” Franks hissed at the man.

The waitress came hesitantly to the table. “Is there a problem?” She wiped the coffee up as she glanced fearfully at the enraged Somali.

“No problem. My friend gets excited about the silliest of things.” Franks said to the waitress in German.

Franks smiled broadly at the woman, then tugged on Asad’s coat sleeve to sit down. The woman frowned but quickly left the four men alone. Asad took his seat as Franks turned and glared at him.

“Listen to me, Asad. Your friend Tawfeek almost ruined our plans by his hatred of women. Now you are bring too much attention to our endeavors. If you keep it up you will be removed.” Franks whispered harshly at the man.

Asad growled but remained in his seat as Franks turned back to Q and Bond.

“Please forgive the interruption.”

Bond bowed his head in acknowledgement but Q kept glaring.

“I expect reparations for the loss of my associate. She was . . . important to me.” Q couldn’t keep the emotion from his voice. Franks raised an eyebrow as he listened.

Bond feared Q would give too much away to Franks. He took a hesitant glance at Q’s face. The Quartermaster was remaining stoic even though it was obvious to Bond he was effected by the conversation.

“My boss will expect compensation for the death of the girl.” Bond said as his left hand slipped over Q’s hands. “She was a valued member of our team and it will very difficult to replace her.”

“I didn’t think hackers worked as a team. I always believed you preferred to work in solitude.” Franks raised a blonde eyebrow as he studied Q.

“A misconception. A stereotype that is perpetuated by the mass media.” Q said as he gained more control of his emotions. “While hacking into a secure database, if you can approach from various angles simultaneously, you’re chances of success increase exponentially.”

Franks nodded his head in agreement. Bond doubted he understood what Q was saying but it was said in a manner that was believable enough to fool the man. Asad remained silent and glared at the other three men.

“Well, then if you are ready, my boss would like to meet you.” Franks said as he slowly stood.

Q started to rise but Bond grabbed his forearm and held him back.

“We haven’t discussed payment?” Bond said calmly.

Franks looked down at Bond and Q. “You haven’t proven you will be able to provide the service you’ve promised.”

Q glanced at Bond who was still staring at Franks. A small smile hesitatingly passed over Bond’s lips.

“So this is a get to know you meeting we are going to be going to?”

“You British never could just proceed without foreplay.” Franks sighed. His face losing all the openness and friendliness it had only a moment before. The watery blue eyes became hard like flint and his jaw flexed as if he was gritting his teeth.

Asad, who was sitting next to him, smiled. His dislike of Bond and Q was oozing out of him.

“Better to test the water instead of drowning.” Bond said.

“Is he your body guard or superior?” Franks asked of Q.

Bond didn’t look at Q. Bond’s hand slipped under the napkin and around the grip of the gun resting there.

“He is my body guard, of course.” Q said looking back at Franks. “But I would be a fool not to listen to his advice about protecting my body.”

Franks was surprised by Q’s response. He thought he could goad the young man in coming with him.

“This is unacceptable.” He said feeling wrong footed.

“Provide us with a meeting point and we will be there.” Q said. “I will defer to my . . . body guard as to the suitability of the location before we meet again.”

Franks huffed and rolled his eyes at Bond. He provided a card from inside his jacket. He wrote a number down and handed it to Q.

“I expect a call in the next half hour. We will meet at six. The address is on the card.” Franks said, then he turned and marched away.

Asad waited till Franks was near the door before he glanced at Bond and Q. He smiled broadly then drew his thumb across his throat in a slicing motion. He spit at the table and then followed behind Peter Franks.

Q waited until the two men left the café before he sighed heavily and slumped forward.

“Remind me Bond to never criticize you again about your bad guy meetings.”

Bond glanced over and noticed a sweat had broken out across Q’s forehead. Bond closed his hand over the top of Q’s. He’d apparently been holding it there since he first grabbed Q’s hand. He gave the younger man’s hand a little squeeze.

“You did a great job, Q. Now we just need to get through the next meeting and we will know who the next person up the ladder is. After that, you can go back to London.”

Q looked up at Bond with large sad eyes. “Bond, I don’t think I can ever return to London. After we discover who is running this cyber ring, I’ll have to disappear. Remember, I’m considered a traitor back home.”

Bond shifted his hand. He started to reach up for Q’s face but stopped. He hoped the young man hadn’t noticed the aborted attempt to touch his face.

“I’ll do everything I can, Q, to get you back home. You are too valuable to me . . . to MI6 to remain in hiding. We need you and I’ll bring you back. Even if I have to shoot Mallory, you will return as the Quartermaster.”

Q gave James a weak smile that didn’t reach his eyes. The hazel eyes were still sad and distant. They had been since two days ago, when Q held his dead sister in his arms.

~Q~

Bond’s instincts were flashing warning signs. He felt something was off. Twice he had changed direction while they walked back to the hotel. Bond kept checking behind themselves to see if he saw the same people, but a different group was always there. But the sense he was being watched didn’t go away. He tried to convince Q to not come with him to the meeting but the younger man insisted.

“I have to be there, Bond. I’m supposed to be the hacker they are hiring.” Q said.

“But you can’t duplicate your sister’s program.” James argued.

“No and all the better. It should never be used again. But I know the original program, the one we used when we were younger. I can fake the rest.” Q said but there was note of concern in his voice. Bond caught it but didn’t say anything.

They took the taxi to the address Franks had given them. The taxi stopped in front of grand façade between two buildings, a traditional shopping arcade. There were various shops with glass fronted displays. Q glanced back and forth as they walked down the narrow street between the empty shops.

Standing in front of an open doorway, half way down the narrow street, was Peter Franks. He waved at Bond and Q. The younger man glanced at the blonde beside him. Bond’s face was unreadable. His shoulders had pulled back and Q noticed the finger on Bond’s hands curled defensively.

Q took in a deep breath through his nose and slowly let it out over his lips. He pushed his hand deep into the pockets of his coat and hoped no one noticed he was shaking.

Franks led Q and Bond into a butcher shop. The two followed the German behind the main counter and into a large backroom. There were large tables with wooden butcher-block tops. Along the white painted walls were magnetized strips with a row of knives of various length and style. The floor was still wet from being hosed down, but the smell of blood was still pungent in the air. It was the main work space for the vendor where animal carcasses were broken down further to consumer size portions.

“Is this supposed to encourage me to be more cooperative?” Q asked Franks.

The German just smiled.

The door of the refrigerator opened and another man stepped out. He was an older man with white hair receding from his broad forehead. His eyes were a pale china blue. His skin was darkly tan. The man look fit for his age with broad shoulders and a flat stomach. He was tall and imposing. And even though he had not said a word, he still commanded the room. He reminded Q of a forceful grandfather type.

“Archangel, Herr Stromsburg.” Franks said to the newcomer.

The man nodded and smiled. He quickly stepped across the room and held his hand out with an open smile. Q stared down at the man’s open hand so Bond quickly took it and shook it.

“You do not like to shake hands?” Stromsburg asked while still holding Bond’s hand. A frown on his face betrayed his anger.

“I’m sorry. My hands are my livelihood.” Q stumbled to say. “I tend to shy away from handshakes that look like they could crush my fingers.”

Stromsburg laughed. A loud boisterous sound the filled the small room. It didn’t put Q or Bond at ease.

“Very good. I will accept that.” He said, smiling at Q, as he released Bond’s hand. “Now, you are here. Let us talk about your computer program.”

“Yes, let’s talk.” Q gave a tentative smile.

“We have been told your computer program can release secure information into the internet for anyone to see.”

“That is a portion of my computer program.” Q said remembering what Andy had said about her program. “It is actually a form of ransomware. It was originally designed to lock down the computer it infects and if the owner doesn’t pay the ransom, all of their private information would be released.” Q said. “It is safer than just hacking into a network and stealing the information. It prevents the victim from trying to fight back a hack or erase anything illegal they don’t want published.”

“Can you used it to just retrieve information without the user knowing they have been hacked?” Stromsburg asked leaning forward into Q’s personal space.

“It could, but there are other programs I have for that. The Archangel Virus is specialized.”

“How does it get introduced into a computer?” Stromsburg asked.

“There are several ways. It can be downloaded through infected email or I can hack into the system and simply implant it.”

“You said something about the victim fighting back and stopping the hack. Could you be stopped from implanting it?”

“Me? No. Someone else, yes.” Q said confidently. Bond wished Q didn’t give so much away.

Stromsburg stared at Q for several seconds, then nodded his head. “Very good. Peter!”

Franks snapped his finger and one of the other guards in the room set a laptop up on the butcher block table in front of Q. The man opened the laptop and powered it up.

“Do it. Start with the Christian Democratic Union of the Bundestag then move on to the SPD.” Stromsburg ordered.

“You want me to place ransomware in the computer systems of the German Social Democratic Party?” Q asked.

“No, I want you to release all their information about their candidates. I want them all exposed. Then we will move onto the BND and Bundeszollverwaltung.” Stromsburg’s china blue eyes lit up brightly.

“You want to expose all of Germany’s leading politicians as well as their federal police and their secret service?” Q tried to keep his voice neutral. He could feel Bond tensing beside him.

“Yes! Think of it. All of their lies exposed for the whole world to see! None of them could hide! I want the world to see how inept they are and that Germany needs. . .” Stromsburg paused as he studied Q’s astonished face. “It is time for the German people to know who they have elected and how incompetent they are.”

“And you feel compelled to let them know?” Bond asked unable to keep the sarcasm from his voice.

“Do not mock me, Mister Bond!” Stromsburg’s attitude shifted rapidly.

Franks pulled a gun out from underneath his jacket and pointed it at Bond’s head. Q’s head jerked back as he stared at Stromsburg and Franks.

“Shooting my associate won’t encourage me to help you.” Q said quickly.

Stromsburg turned to Q and his smile showed the insanity behind the eyes.

“Then get to work so the two of you can leave here alive.”

Stromsburg waved his hand and the man who had set up the computer stepped up behind Bond. He yanked Bond’s overcoat off and quickly started to pat Bond down. He found the holster with Bond’s gun. He pulled it from its hiding place and stepped towards Q. Removing Q’s warm coat, he patted the young man down then shook his head to Franks.

Q waited for a few seconds to speak. He took a deep breath and shook his head no. “I can’t.”

“CAN’T!?” Stromsburg shouted. “WHY NOT?!”

“Exactly, I can’t not I won’t. First off, I can’t use these computers here, I need to use my own computer. Second, I need to retrieve the thumb drive that has the ransomware on it. I don’t carry the code around in my head. Finally, it will take time. Hours to hack into each and every network you just listed. By the time I have downloaded the virus in the first network and the threat is exposed, the other organizations will have reinforced their firewalls and increased the time and effort it will take me to hack into them. We haven’t even discussed payment yet.”

Bond marveled at how calm and collected the young man sounded. It was the same calm voice he was used to hearing through the com links when Bond was on a mission and Q was back safe at MI6. Maybe, Q could be able to talk the two of them out of here before Bond was going to have to result in shooting these bastards.

Bond watched as Stromsburg seemed to be thinking over Q’s statement. Q appeared calm to the other men, but Bond could since Q’s heightened awareness and tension. Franks had not moved or spoken. He remained still with his 9mm pointed at Bond’s head.

“Where is the thumb drive?” Stromsburg asked.

“Some place secure, but I will not be able to retrieve it until the morning.” Q said.

“It is not with your computer back at your hotel?” Stromsburg asked.

“I said it someplace secure. Do you honestly think I would consider my hotel room or any hotel room secure?” Q asked with the same sarcasm that Bond was familiar with from other mission. “Only a fool would question my intelligence after asking me to help them bring down a government.”

Bond fought to keep the smile from his face. Hearing Q’s razor tongue lash out at someone else for once was enjoyable.

“So you expect me to allow you to go back to your hotel and wherever you have ‘secreted’ your thumb drive and come back to me later?” Stromsburg teased.

Q did not answer him. He stood ridged next to Bond as the blonde glancing over to Franks who still pointed the gun at James’ head. Stromsburg laughed.

“Well, you are intelligent enough not to provoke me further.” Stromsburg turned away and moved to the door of the walk in freezer. “Franks, let us show our new friends where they will be spending the night.”

The tight expression of Franks face didn’t change. He waved the barrel of the gun towards the door. The other men in the room stepped forward and started to herd Bond and Q into the insulated room.

“Maybe in the morning you will be less hot headed and more cooperative.” Stromsburg mused.

“You think killing us will encourage my assistance?” Q glared.

“You won’t freeze to death as long as keep moving. And if you do die, we will retrieve your computer and move on to the next hacker. I believe you are lying. I believe everything I need is on that computer in your hotel.”

Franks pushed Q into the small room. He stumbled and fell into a something hanging from the ceiling. Q glanced up and realize that what he hit was wearing dark grey trousers and a jacket. He looked up and saw Asad, dead with a bullet hole in his forehead.

“He proved to be just as inefficient as his friend Tawfeek.” Franks said.

Bond hesitated and was about to turn and fight, when Franks pointed the barrel of his gun at Q and fired. The bullet seared Q’s upper arm. Tearing a gouge in the muscle. Q shouted in surprise at the burning sensation of the bullet ripping a track through his arm.

“I’ll shoot him in the stomach before you have a chance to reach me.” Franks said, frighteningly calm.

Bond nodded and stepped into the freezer. Franks closed the door and slipped the metal pin in the locking mechanism, preventing the door from opening.

Stromsburg laughed as he turned the temperature down on the thermostat to minus twenty. The large fans inside the ten by ten foot freeze started to blow.

Franks turned to the other two men in the room. “You two stay here. Make sure they don’t get out. We will back in a few hours and see how cooperative they have become.”

~Q~

As soon as the door was closed, Bond was moving. The room was pitch dark but he judged where Q was by the last position he saw the man in. Bond stepped into Q’s body and reached for the younger man’s arm in the darkness.

“How bad are you hurt?” Bond asked as he felt the warm blood against his palms.

“It fucking hurts but I don’t think it is bad. My fingers will still move as well as the wrist.”

Bond’s fingers slipped up into Q’s jacket then down into the sleeve. He could feel the tear in the flesh and the warm ooze of blood. It wasn’t a deep wound but Q would have a definite gouge in his arm once it healed and scared over. Bond pulled his white handkerchief from his pocket and slipped it over the wound.

“Hold this.” He said forcefully. Q’s opposite hand slipped up and over Bond’s.

Suddenly the giant fans in the ceiling of the freezer kicked on and started blowing hard on the two of them.

“What’s happening?” Q asked with the slight hint of stress in his voice.

“He’s lowering the temperature.” Bond said.

Bond moved away from Q and started to feel around near the door. He found a switch and clicked it on. A light bulb switched on and a weak light filled the small room.

Q glanced up at the dead man hanging from the ceiling on a meat hook. He started to shake uncontrollably, wrapping his arms around his torso for warmth.

Bond was busy studying the door and pushing against it. The lock was set and there was no way the man was going to force the door open.

“Are we going to freeze to death?” Q asked.

“No.” Bond said firmly. He moved away from the door and returned to Q’s side. The younger man was still staring up at the dead man. Bond gently turned Q’s face so he was looking at him. “Trust me, Quartermaster. I will get you out of here alive. Now, Stromsburg was right. We need to keep moving.”

“But those damn fans are blowing right down on us.” Q said as Bond pushed him to start walking.

“It doesn’t matter. As long as we don’t touch anything and keep our core temperature up, we will make it.” Bond said and he placed his arm over Q’s shoulders and encouraged the young man to keep walking in a small circle.

The two men walked side by side in the circle. Both had noticed the growing line of blood on the floor of the room as they walked. The temperature dropped and Q’s face numbed. His hands were shoved deep into is pockets of his jacket but the thin wool didn’t provide much warmth. He didn’t know how Bond could continue to hold his arm around Q’s shoulders. ‘ _His right hand must be frozen by now’_ , Q thought.

They continued to walk. Q grew tired and slumped against Bond’s side. It became harder and harder to walk. His feet were so cold and the sensation of knives piercing them became unbearable.

“Please, Bond, can I sit for a while.” Q begged.

“No.” Bond growled.

It had been at least three hours. He knew they could last longer if Q would just keep walking. Bond could feel the young man shaking beside him. He too was feeling the effects of the cold. His lips were numb. The cold air blowing down on them had made his whole head ache. His ears burned.

He pulled Q’s shivering body closer to his and took another step. They needed to keep moving.

There was a pop. Then another pop. Bond stopped walking and looked at the door. The two men heard the scape of metal against the door and another pop but it was louder. Bond pushed Q behind him. The young man could barely stand. He leaned forward and rested his head on Bond’s back.

The lock disengaged and door opened. Light from the outside poured into the frigid tomb. A tall man with broad shoulders stood in the door way blocking the light.

“Evening James.” The accent was British with a hint of amusement.

“Alec . . . you’re a bastard.”

“Is that any way to speak to your rescuer?”


	10. The Hotel Altstat

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bond and Alec get Q back to the hotel.

Bond and Trevelyan carried their Quartermaster out of the freezer. The young man was suffering from hypothermia and was completely unaware of where he was. He missed the fact that there were three dead men on the floor of the butcher shop. All killed by Alec as he rescued them. He didn’t know they were in a cab or remembered anything about the ride back to the hotel.

Q’s first moment of consciousness was in the lift at the hotel. Bond’s arms wrapped tightly around his shoulders and waist as the man’s body pressed heavily against his. Q would have enjoyed Bond’s proximity to him if he wasn’t still shaking so badly from the cold. His mind was sluggish and he was having a difficult time understanding what he was looking at.

The doors of the lift opened and Bond dragged Q out of it. They moved down the hall and noticed the door to their room was standing open. Alec slipped his gun out of his jacket and moved in front of James and Q. Slowly he pushed the door open and was greeted by the hotel manager, Herr Schmitz, and four other staff members.

“Oh, Herr Bond, Herr Fleming . . . we are so sorry. We apologies. Your room has been vandalized.” The hotel manager gushed. “Please . . . please accept our apologies. We are trying to straighten it now.”

Bond glanced around. One person was rehanging clothes in the wardrobe. Another was straightening the furniture. The third was busy remaking the bed. He couldn’t tell if anything was missing.

“Nothing like this has ever happened before. Herr Fleming, please trust me, I have kept your valuables safe.”

Q waved his hand dismissing the man’s fears. “I was aware of the dangers. We took the needed precautions.”

“Polizei?” Bond asked.

“If you don’t mind . . . I mean if nothing is missing . . . can we please not inform the police? It would be bad for the hotel’s reputation.” The manager plead.

Bond would prefer to avoid interference from the police, too. He had a man who had been shot standing next to him and other with a highly illegal gun standing on the other side of him.

“That would be preferable to me too. Just leave now please and send us up a bottle of scotch.” Bond said as he pushed into the room.

“Vodka too.” Alec said.

The hotel manager rushed his staff out, leaving their jobs half done. The doors closed softly but James had already managed to get Q into the small bathroom. He set the young man down on the closed lid of the toilet and started to undress him.

Q didn’t put up any resistance. Bond quickly stripped Q of his clothes and helped him into the shower. With experience with hypothermia, Bond turned the taps to tepid and turned the shower on. Q almost screamed as the water felt searing hot to him. James quickly stripped and joined the young man in the water.

James carefully washed the blood from Q’s arm and examined the wound. It was a quarter of inch deep gouge in the muscle on the outside of Q’s upper arm. Neither life-threating nor physically debilitating but definitely painful. Franks’ aim was either incredible accurate or very lucky. Bond feared the former.

Q’s eyes were closed as his body slowly warmed up. Exhaustion, both physical and mental, took hold. The young man leaned forward and rested against James’ naked body. As James’ anxiety over Q’s injury faded, his movements slowed. He welcomed Q’s body against his, as his hands slipped behind Q and slowly smoothed over the young man’s back. Q hummed at the calming sensation and nestled his face into James’ neck. His own hands slipping forward and resting on James’ hips.

The two men stood there under the gentle spray of water. Their skin shifting colors from blueish white to dark red and back to normal coloring. Q hissed as his body finally registered the coolness of the water. He stood up straight and stared into Bond’s crystal blue eyes.

A moment’s hesitation, before Q ducked his head and realization of the situation hit. Both of them were naked and wrapped in each other’s arms. There was nothing emotional about it. It was purely for first aid and physical recover, but Q still couldn’t stop blushing. He stepped back out of Bond’s grasp sputtering as he spoke.

“Yes, thank you . . . I don’t . . . I think . . .”

“It’s alright, Andrew.” James said as he raised the temperature of the water slightly.

Q looked up at James when he heard his real name. It was the first time the man had ever said Q’s real name. He wasn’t even aware James knew it. He knew Andy had said it in front of James but Q sincerely thought Bond hadn’t paid attention.

“Yes it is.” Q whispered back. “Thank you for saving my life.”

“I think you need to thank Alec.” Bond said with a cheeky smile.

“006 is here?” Q’s eye brightened and widened.

“Yes, don’t you remember?”

“Oh, God, and we are in here together!” Q seemed to panic. He quickly turned off the water and reached for the thick towel.

Bond laughed at him as he grabbed his own towel and the two dried themselves off. There were thick white terrycloth robes in the bathroom. Q quickly put on one and stepped out of the bathroom.

As Bond had said, Alec Trevelyan was sitting on the grey couch in the hotel room when Q stepped out. He was stretched out with his feet up on the low coffee table. A full glass was in his hand and an open bottle of vodka and a sealed bottle of scotch were sitting in front of him.

“Hello, Q. Feeling better?” Alec had a smug smile on his face.

“What are you doing here?” Q snapped with his normal authoritative voice. He was tired and didn’t feel like dealing with the normal attitude of his Double O’s.

“I was sent here to bring you back to London. I was told you went rogue and are a danger to the safety of England. Is that true?” Alec was still smiling but there was something behind his green eyes that frightened Q.

“No, he is not.” James said as he stepped out of the bathroom. His towel wrapped low over his waist.

He glanced down at the two bottles. Bond grabbed the scotch and read the label. He raised an eyebrow in approval then twisted the cap to break the seal. Bond didn’t waste time with a glass. He tipped the bottle up and took a deep drink from it.

Alec and Q waited for James to finish before either one of them spoke.

“If he is not a danger, then why does Mallory and Tanner want me to bring him in, preferably alive but dead is an option?” Alec said just before he took another sip.

“Oh God . . .” Q wanted a drink too. Everything was beginning to make his head hurt too much to think about. He poured himself a small shot of vodka and drank the whole thing down in one go. Alec and James watched him.

“Q is helping me.” James said as he stepped over to the pile of clothes on the floor. He grabbed a pair of pants and looked at the label. Making sure they would fit him instead of Q, he dropped the towel and slipped them one.

Once again, Q was shocked by Bond’s naked body. He blushed deeply as he poured himself another drink and quickly emptied his glass. Alec reached over and took the bottle away from him. Q glanced at the other blonde with a raised eyebrow, questioning.

“You are recovering from a gunshot wound. Too much alcohol would be bad for you . . . diuretic.” Alec said smoothly.

“I am quite aware of the effects of alcohol and I believe it is in my best interest to be drunk for the next conversation.” Q said with same sincerity in his voice as Alec.

Bond laughed as he slipped on a pair of jeans and sat down across from Alec. He grabbed the last glass on the coffee table and filled it with scotch.

“How did you know that Q was with me?” James asked.

“It was a hunch but turned out to be correct. There were CCTV photos of the two of you in Venice together.” Alec said.

“Together?” Q asked suspiciously.

“Well, not exactly together. More like Bond chasing you with a gun. By the way, Mallory is pissed you shot Tawfeek . . . and in front of cameras no less. Then we finally picked up your tracker going from Italy to Austria. We knew Bond was on his way to Vienna so it was a reasonable guess the two of you were together.”

“Tracker?” Bond looked at Q.

“Yes, I have a tracker embedded deep inside me. But I have an app on my phone that blocks the signal.” Q explained.

“How did they pick it up while we were on the train?”

“I accidentally let the battery run down.” Q said ducking his head. Bond took a sip of liquor.

“I was sent to track down the Quartermaster. He has apparently has gone rogue and MI6 would like him back.” Alec continued.

“The kill order?” Bond asked worried if there would be other agents after Q too.

“Only if there was a possibility of him falling into the hands of the enemy.” Alec said glancing at James over the rim of his glass. There was something in Alec’s eyes that spoke of more being there than just the possibility of Q’s capture.

“Or if he was willingly working with them?” James asked.

Alec didn’t answer but sneered letting James know he was correct. Q groaned and reached for the bottle but Alec kept it away from him. Q hissed as his injured arm brushed against Alec.

“You need to bandage that up before you get it infected, Quartermaster.” Alec said.

“Not a lot of options here.” James said.

“Don’t worry, I have a complete kit from Q Branch in my room across the hall.” Alec said as he stood.

Q and James glanced at each other confused. Alec jumped to his feet and headed to the door.

“How in the hell did you know what hotel we were in?” James asked his friend.

Alec smiled. “James you are lucky I am your friend. You are too predictable. As soon as Mallory and Tanner told me they thought you and Q were together and heading to Vienna I knew exactly where to find you.”

“Hotel Altstat? I’ve never stayed here before.” James said firmly.

“No, the clothing store. You always stop there whenever you are in town. I waited outside the store till you showed up, then I followed you and the Quartermaster. As soon as you checked in here, I requested a room opposite yours. Told the front desk I was surprising you. Then I followed you to the café then the shopping arcade. I watched you go into that butcher shop and waited after I saw the others leave. When you didn’t come out after a few hours, I figured I better go in. Found you in the freezer.”

Q reached across the couch to where Alec had left the bottle of vodka.

“You could have checked on us sooner than three hours.” Q said as he poured himself another drink.

Both blondes laughed and Alec stepped out to get the first aid kit. Bond sat across from the young man watching him. Q folded his long thin legs under the hem of the white terrycloth robe and eyed James over the glass as he sipped.

“You have something to say to me, 007?”

“Just . . . how are you doing, Andrew?”

Q shivered when he heard James use his real name. He glanced away from the man unable to hold James’ stare.

“My arm is killing me and my head is throbbing. I’m still cold and now the alcohol is making me say what is really on my mind. All in all, not a good combination but . . . I’m glad I’m still alive.” Q took another drink.

“I agree.” James said as he finished his scotch.

Alec returned with the kit and looked at Q. “Take off your robe and I’ll dress that wound.”

“No thanks, I’ll take care of it myself in the bathroom.” Q stood up on wobbly legs.

James jumped up and steadied Q before the young man tipped over. “Let me.”

“No, I’m . . . I don’t . . . where are my blasted pants!”

James smiled and turned Q towards the bathroom. He sat the young man down on the closed toilet again and untied the robe. Letting the thick white cloth slip off one shoulder, Bond let Q remain partially dressed as he quickly tended to the wound in Q’s arm.

“No reason to stitch it.” Bond said. “It’s stop bleeding but is open. Let’s put some antibiotic ointment on it and bandage it.”

Q nodded his head. Alec came into the room carrying some undergarments and a pair of sleep pants.

“These look like they will fit him.” Alec passed the clothes to James.

“Q, can you dress yourself?” James asked looking down at the man who was weaving slightly on the seat.

“Of course, 007.” Q snapped, but still didn’t move to take the clothes from James’ offering hands.

The two men laughed again slightly at Q’s petulance and Bond set the clothes on the counter.

“Get dress and get to bed. Alec and I need to talk.”

“Don’t make me laugh. You two want to drink.” Q said as he leaned forward and grabbed the pile of clothes. “I am fine, Bond. Just let me save what little dignity I have left and get dressed.”

Alec and James backed out of the room and closed the door. They returned to the couch and sat down together.

“Okay, James, how did the Quartermaster end up here in Austria with you?” Alec asked.

“The real hacker was a woman. Q’s twin sister.” James started as he poured another drink. “He saw her on the video feed. He panicked and apparently told the computer to evacuate the building so he could escape and go save her. He arrived in Venice while I was . . . questioning her.”

“Questioning her?” Alec raised an eyebrow.

“Q explained who she was and I agreed to help them if they help me find out who hired her. We met him tonight at the butcher shop. His name is Stromsburg.”

“Is that all you have?”

“He wanted Q to hack into different political parties in Germany and release any information about various candidates.” James explained.

“And?”

“Q said he couldn’t without his computer.” James paused and looked around the room. Q’s messenger bag was missing with both his and his sister’s computers. “It looks like they took them.”

“Can Stromsburg get the information with those computers?” Alec asked.

“Q said only he could do the actual work. Anyone else would be caught, but I don’t know.”

“What about Q’s sister?”

“She is dead.” James said glancing to the door of the bathroom. “She was shot while we were trying to escape Venice.”

Alec nodded his head in understanding as the bathroom door opened and a sleepy Q stepped out. He stumbled across the room and fell into the bed.

“Q, your computers are gone. Stromsburg has them.” James said standing up thinking the information might pull Q out of his fog.

“No he doesn’t.” Q said as his head hit the pillow.

“Q, they’re missing.” James said again as he stepped closer to the bed.

“No, they’re not. I hid them.” Q’s voice was muffled as he burrowed deeper into the covers. “Cold again.”

“You hid them? In the room?” James asked as Alec stepped nearer.

“No. Let me go to sleep.”

“Where are they?” James asked.

“Safe. Sleep next to me. I’m cold.” Q said as he pulled the duvet over his head.

James glanced at Alec who smiled back.

“That’s an order, James. The Quartermaster is our superior.” Alec’s smile broadened.

Bond moaned and sat down on the edge of the bed.

“Good night, James. I’ll see the two of you in the morning. Maybe by then the little boffin will remember where he hid the computers, if he really did.”

Alec left the hotel room as James stood up to lock the door. He turned off the lights and took off his jeans. Slipping into the bed next to Q for the third night in a row, the agent didn’t want to think about how quickly this had become normal to him or how much he was going to miss the presence of Q in his bed when this mission was over.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Poor Q is going to wake up to an interesting morning and a frightening truth about Stromsburg. Thanks for reading the story. I hope you are still enjoying it.


	11. Morning Complications

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> James, Q and Alec discover what Stromsburg is up to.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, I do not profess to understand anything about European politics or German politics. But to be honest in the last two years I think everything has turned upside down in 'world politics'. I'm asking you to suspend you disbelief and enjoy the story. If I have made a glaring mistake please let me know I will try to correct it. And it not my intention to offend anyone regardless of their beliefs or viewpoints.

During the night the two men migrated to the center of bed. Both seeking out the warmth of the other’s soul. The need for physical contact so basic it over rode conventional isolation. Q’s face was buried in James’ throat. The young man breathing deeply the scent of James. James’ arms were protectively wrapped around Q’s waist, holding Q close. As their legs tangled together and their bare feet softly rubbed against each other’s.

Bond woke as the winter sun slowly began to light the city. The pale blue of a February dawn seeped in under the closed curtains. Bond came fully awake with slight twitches and spasms in a matter of seconds. Full recognition of where he was came before he even opened his eyes. Location awareness was a needed talent for his profession. He remembered the night before. The freezer and Alec. He remembered the alcohol and the shower with Q. No, not Q but Andrew. He remember the younger man being shot.

Bond opened his eyes and looked down at the man presently ensconced in his arms. Q’s warm breath tickled James’ neck. Q’s hand was resting tenderly on James’ hip and his thigh was pressed against James’ groin. Bond twist his head so his nose was buried in the dark curls and his lips softly dragged across the skin of Q’s temple.

The young man sighed in his arms, and arched his back to look up into James’ face. For a moment Q smiled. He looked so young and so innocent to Bond. As if everything the young man had seen and done never happened. He hadn’t been orphaned, nor arrested and thrown in jail before he could vote. He hadn’t been raped or tortured by the other prisoners. He hadn’t been blackmailed by M or forced to abandon his sister. All those things never happened and the man presently in James’ arms was unsullied and chaste by the ugliness of the world. An innocent, an angel.

James leaned forward again and placed another kiss to Q’s forehead. Leaning back to see the wonder in Q’s large hazel eyes.

The need was overwhelming and both men felt it. They moved together and pressed their lips to one another without inhibition. Q’s hands reached up and wrapped around James’ head. His long fingers bristling through the short hair. Q moaned as he opened his mouth and welcomed James’ tongue into it.

James’ grip tightened and he held Q’s body close to his. He licked and tasted and wanted more. His attempts were thwarted when Q twisted and moved to kiss down James’ throat. Bond leaned down and buried his face into Q’s curls as his nose dragged around the shell of Q’s ear.

Q slowly raised his thigh that had been between James’ legs and pressed into the hardness of the older man’s groin. James moaned and shifted. Pulling Q underneath himself as he slipped his leg between Q’s own legs. As soon as Q unlatched from James’ neck, the two men returned to kiss each other. A mutual need for touch and emotion overwhelming both of them.

James’ hand slipped out from behind Q’s back and slowly traced down the young man’s side. Lightly running down the cotton vest that covered Q’s body. Bond felt the undulations of Q’s ribs, each and every rise and fall of a pronounced rib and thin body beneath the garment. Skimming over his abdomen as James mapped out the man’s torso.

Q twitched and shivered. Bucked and moaned. His thigh transferred every teasing movement into James’ cock. Waiting and wanting. Q’s movements tormented James’ control. Making each and every brush of his fingertips across the pale cotton cloth and the flesh beneath surged into himself. The painful pleasure of anticipation as James waited until Q said the word _‘Please’_.

James teased the tips of Q’s erect nipples before finally slipped his hand down and rested it on Q’s thigh. James’ fingers slowly played across the young man’s hip. Tantalizing as it went closer and under the hem of Q’s pants. Q groaned then thrust his hips up and pressed himself into Bond. The young man’s engorged member seeking friction quickly. Bond laughed darkly and skimmed his finger back away and down Q’s leg. The young man groaned and pulled back to look into James’ hungry eyes.

The knock on the door was unwelcome.

Bond could feel Q’s grip on him tighten. Bond twisted his head away from Q but remained laying on top of the other man.

Another knock, more insistent.

“Open the bloody door. I brought coffee.” Alec growled through the door.

Bond sighed and Q gasped and dropped his hands away from James’ shoulder.

“Bastard.” James hissed as he rolled off Q’s body.

He padded across the wooden floor, only dressed in his boxers. His cock visible as it obscenely stood at attention under the cotton. James heard the rustling of covers being thrown off. He smiled as he notice Q’s whispered curses and Alec’s name associated with cockblocking.

James opened the hotel room door just as he heard the bathroom door slam shut. Alec stepped into the room then glanced around. He finally looked at Bond, standing there in just his pants and his member slowly flagging.

“Did I interrupt something?” Alec asked with a smug expression of his chiseled face.

“As if I would confide in you.” James said as he stepped away and grabbed his clothes from the previous night. “Q . . . Alec brought coffee.”

Alec set the carafe of coffee down and three cups.

“Hotel manager still upset about last night. I think he is afraid we will sue or something.” Alec said as be poured three cups.

The bathroom door opened and Q looked around the corner.

“Coffee? No tea?” the young man asked.

“No tea.” Alec said as he sat down. “And no milk or sugar either. So don’t ask.”

“Heathens.” Q slammed the door again.

Alec laughed while James just frowned and sat down. The two men sat in silence as they sipped the hot coffee. Alec’s eyes glanced over at the bed and the tossed covers, then back to his friend.

“Is there anything I should know?” Alec asked.

“No.” James said into the cup.

“If Q is actually a rogue agent, you could be considered compromised.”

“He isn’t rogue. He offered to return to London before he came here. He is willing to face Mallory and be arrested for what happened.” James looked at his friend. Alec could tell James was hiding something behind his expression.

“And?” Alec raised an eyebrow.

James took a deep cleaning breath and sighed. He poured himself another cup of coffee.

“And I told him I wouldn’t take him back. I would protect him from Mallory and any prosecution.”

“As far as I can tell, he only pulled the fire alarm and walked away. Compared to what others have done, he should only get a slap on the wrist.” Alec said teasingly.

“The problem is, or was, his sister. She turned out to be a criminal and he knew it. He kept the information away from MI6 and hid his connection to her.” James said as he glanced towards the closed door.

“We all have lies that we hide.” Alec said darkly. James glanced back at him.

The two friends stared at each other for a moment, then James nodded and sighed again. The bathroom door opened and Q came out dressed in grey trousers and a forest green jumper.

“I look like an idiot in these clothes you bought.”

“You look like an adult.” James said as he admired the young man standing in front of them. Alec just smiled at the Quartermaster.

“I look like you.” Q said frowning at Bond. “I prefer my ‘Geek chic’.”

Q plopped down on the couch next to Alec.

“Okay, Q, last night you said the computers were safe but not here.” Bond glared at the younger man.

“Yes. When we arrived I told Herr Schmitz I was worried about robberies. He told me they had never had a room broken into. That everything would be perfectly safe. I insisted that he keep my messenger bag in the hotel safe.” Q smiled at the two agents then frowned as he sipped the coffee.

“That explains why Herr Schmitz is falling over himself to make up for the break in last night. He’s begged me not to call the police again this morning.” Alec said.

James glared at the younger man. “Q, you know that was stupid. Hotel staff can’t be trusted.”

“I was questioning an Austrian about his ability to protect my valuables. He would sacrificed his life to keep them safe and protect his good name. They are a very proud people. Besides both computers are password protected. There are also fail-safes that make them impossible to open them without the proper protocols.”

“Are these the same fail-safes that Silva was using?” Irony dripped from James’ words. Q just glared at him.

“Okay, then what do we do now?” Q asked ignoring Bond.

“Well, normally we contact MI6 and report. They would supply us with all the information we would need to proceed with Stromsburg and his organization. But since we are running silent, I guess we will have to wait and see if Stromsburg contacts us again.” Alec said.

Q turned and looked fish-eyed at the man. “Contact MI6?”

“Yes, but since we are trying to hide you from them. . .”

“Honestly, did agents just stumble around waiting for the bad guys to drop on your heads before I arrived?” Q growled. “When you contact MI6 for information, I direct the Database admins to locate that information. Who sends it on to Statistical Analysis to determine if it is a viable lead. Do you honestly think that the people working in Database and Statistical Analysis are better at retrieving and analyzing information than I am?”

Both blondes glanced at each other, then smiled. Q was unsure if they realized their mistake or if he was being played by them.

“Let me retrieve my computers and I will be right back.”

“No, you stay here. Alec will go fetch them. And tell Schmitz to send up some breakfast . . . with Earl Grey tea.” Bond ordered.

Alec quickly jumped up and left. Bond and Q were suddenly alone again. The two men glanced at each other and Q blushed as James held his stare with his icy blue eyes.

“Andrew . . . ?”

Q glanced away. He didn’t dare look at the man. “I believe I can have the information you need quite quickly.”

“Andrew? We should talk.” Bond tried again.

“He must be associated with an extremist group like Tawfeek and Asad.”

Bond sighed and stood up. Q finally glance up at the man. For a moment James just looked at Q then shrugged.

“I’m taking a shower. Alec should be back soon with the computers. Get started and tell me when you have something.”

Bond walked away from Q. The young man both relieved and angry at himself that he didn’t speak up. But what could Q say. He threw himself at Bond again. He acted like one of Bond’s many conquests. All emotions and need and no intelligence. Q hated himself for acting so foolishly around the agent. He was positive Bond felt the same way too. Q was becoming a negative to the mission instead of an asset. Q knew he needed to change that and quickly.

~Q~

As soon as Alec returned with the messenger bag and the computers, Q reached inside and located the cords for his phone. Q quickly checked his phone again and was relieved to see it still had a charge. He plugged it in to recharge the battery before he turned his attention to the two computers, his and his sister’s.

Bond came out of the bathroom, dress in clean clothes and towel drying his hair. Alec was being a friend and had started to sort out the clothing and remaining items that had been tossed on the floor during the search of the rooms the day before. He was just hanging up the linen shirt when Q spoke.

“Got him.”

Q refused to explain anything to the two agents until he could compile his information and review it. The two operatives sat anxiously as they waited. When breakfast arrived, Alec nearly shot the poor bellboy when he knocked.

It took Q only an hour to learn everything possible he could about Stromsburg but it was still too long for Alec and James.

“I’m ready,” Q said as he leaned back in his chair.

Alec was sitting across from James on the couch, with a plate of food. There was a second plate next to Q. The young man was sitting at the desk. The trolley sitting next to Bond, had both coffee and tea carafes along with several covered serving dishes of toast, meats, and eggs. There was also a pitcher of orange juice and a chilled bottle of Prosecco.

James ignored the food and stepped up to Q’s chair and looked over the man’s shoulder.

“Who is he?” Bond asked.

“Karl Stromsburg. He is a rich industrialist. His family is German but he lives in both Germany and here in Austria. He has houses here in Vienna as well as Salzburg and Graz. Respected Austrian and German businessman involved in automotive, metal works, mining, and . . . aviation.” Q read through the man’s bio.

“There must be more.” James said as he stared at the screen.

Q typed and pulled up another website, then, another. He used his sister’s computer to hack into the BND and pulled up a confidential file on the man.

“His father avoided being in the German army during the war. He worked for Robert Ley of the German Labor Front.” Q read.

“Ley embezzled millions of franks before and during the war. Money set aside to pay German workers. When the Nazi’s started using slave labor, he stole even more money. He committed suicide before he was tried as a war criminal.”

“Ley was a politician not a soldier.” Alec set his plate down.

“Still he was going to be tried at Nuremberg.”

“What does that tell us about Karl Stromsburg?” James asked.

“Not all the money was recovered. Apparently Ley’s assistants helped themselves to the stolen funds before the Allies got to them. Otto Stromsburg fled Germany ahead of the Russians. He made it to Austria then Switzerland. Otto was able to run the stolen money through the Swiss banks and launder it. He lived there for thirty years before he died of natural causes and left his money to his son, Karl. Karl Stromsburg was born in Zurich. Karl Stromsburg attended university in the seventies and is a successful industrialist.”

“Why would an industrialist want to compromise the German government?” Bond asked.

Q typed a little more and came up with a newspaper article. He quickly read through the few paragraphs out loud to Bond and Alec. Then clinked on another link.

“It appears that Karl Stromsburg is unhappy with the course his country has been going in. He secretly shares some of his father’s beliefs.” Q said as he kept pulling up different articles and quickly read specific sentences. “He wants Germany to leave the EU like Great Britain and established a policy of Germany for Germans.”

“Fascism?” Alec asked leaning forward in his seat. “Didn’t we already win the war against this once before?”

“There are many who would like to see a return to it.” Bond said frowning. “But fascism is illegal in Germany.”

“Stromsburg doesn’t strike me as being a Neo-Nazi.” Alec snarled at the word.

“He’s not. He is a manipulator. Stromsburg has been apparently and covertly been pushing another candidate for the German president. Someone named Lehmann. The party is new, the German Democratic Homeland. It is made up of hanger-on’s from the Grand Coalition. They have slowly built themselves up and now have a chance to be a major political group in German. Lehmann is their candidate.”

“Alright, that explains why Stromsburg would want to disgrace the SPD and CPU, by why is he working with an Islamic terrorist?” Bond asked.

“Stromsburg said so himself. Tawfeek and Asad were supplying him with something and failed to provide it.” Q said.

“Your sister’s program?” Bond asked.

“No, I think it was something else.”

Alec hummed. “This doesn’t seemed right. Stromsburg is rich. He could easily buy anything he wanted. What would Tawfeek and Asad’s connections get for him?”

“What do terrorist have access to that can’t be readily bought elsewhere? It would have to be something that would be so dangerous no one else would want to handle it.” Q said.

The three men stared at each other.

“Something that required the German secret service being compromised before it was acquired and released.” Q continued.

Alec and James caught the last word. _‘Released’_.

“Chemical weapons.” The two men said simultaneously.

“What are you talking about?” Q asked.

“Chemical weapons have not been used in Europe since the end of World War I. Thirty years ago all chemical weapons were banned and ordered to be destroyed. The only three countries that still have stockpiles are North Korea, Russia and the United States. The US is supposed to destroy its stockpile before the end of this year. Only rogue nations have chemical weapons now.”

“Like the rogue nations that Tawfeek and Asad were working for.” Q said. He suddenly felt sick. He glanced up at the two agents. Q’s eyes were wide with fear and the pallor of his skin was greenish grey. “But they kill indiscriminately . . . Stromsburg wouldn’t use them knowing he could kill anyone.”

“He would if he wanted to start a revolution.” Alec said.

“I don’t understand?” Q asked.

“Think about what has happened in the last year and a half. Great Britain leaves the EU. The American and French elections get hacked and the last person thought to have a chance at winning becomes the presidents of each county. Now Germany is posed to change chancellors. The others were bloodless revolutions. Maybe Germany needs a stronger push than America?”

“Oh, my God. He would kill Europeans just to further his political agenda?” Q asked stunned.

“He is insane.” James said with a cool composure of an assassin. “But this seems much larger than just Germany. Other countries are involved. Other elections have been tampered with.”

“We need to notify MI6.” Q said.

“And you honestly think they will believe you. You are still being hunted, Q. You have no proof that Stromsburg is anything other than what he appears to be. A successful business man while you have evaded MI6 and forced an agent to go rogue with you without his knowledge.” Alec walked away from Q and James. “Even if I contacted them, I doubt they would listen to me. The two of you . . . never.”

“So what can we do?” Q asked the two agents.

James and Alec glanced at each other and shrugged their shoulders. “What we are good at doing.”

Q waited for an answer. James turned and looked at him. “Blow something up.”


	12. Jinx and Felix

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Q is kidnapped.

Q had been able to supply the two agents with not only the address of Karl Stromsburg’s business office in Vienna but also the man’s schedule for the day. James and Alec sat at a table inside the small café across the street. It was early afternoon and the lunch crowds were coming out of the office building. James and Alec leaned back in their chairs and slowly drank their coffees. They looked like the quintessential European businessmen. Tailored suits, Italian leather shoes and sun glasses. They watched the various workers come and go from the building. As of yet, no one from the night before had arrived or left.

“So, tell me . . . what is going on between you and the boffin?” Alec asked over the rim of coffee cup.

Bond was proud of the fact he didn’t flinch. He carefully set his cup down in its saucer and slowly crossed his legs. Tugging slightly on the pleat to straighten a crease.

“What do you mean . . . between Q and I? Nothing more than a mission to find a terrorist.”

“I saw how he looks at you. I wouldn’t call it hero worship but . . . and you definitely would like to leave love bites all over his body.” Alec’s laugh was no more than a hum.

“Alec, he is our Quartermaster.” Bond said shifting slightly in the chair. The mental image Alec was painting of Bond leaving his mark on Q’s pale skin was causing blood to rush to other regions.

“Yes, but it’s not like you haven’t slept with a coworker before.”

“I wouldn’t exactly call Q a coworker. He is actually a superior if I remember my chain of command correctly.”

Just then, Bond noticed Peter Franks exiting a black saloon that had pulled up in front of the building. The tall blond glance up and down the street, slowly removing his sunglasses. He apparently didn’t see anything amiss and strode into the building.

James and Alec stood and left the café. They hesitated for traffic before crossing the street and entering the glass front of the office building. Suddenly, Alec’s mobile buzzed in his pocket. He pulled it out and noticed a message on it.

Alec grabbed James’ arm and stopped him from going any further after Franks. Alec pressed a number and listened to the message.

“Are you positive?!” Alec growled in to the phone. “Alright, I’m moving.”

James turned in concern to Alec. “What is it?”

“Q’s tracker just came on line.” Alec said as he turned and rushed out of the building.

Bond quickly turned on his heals as he watched Alec wave a taxi down.

“Did his mobile run dead again?”

“No, the tracker says he is moving west.” Alec shouted as he grabbed the taxi driver and pulled the stunned man from the car. Bond jumped in behind the wheel as Alec punched the surprised man. Then Alec rushed into the passenger seat as two men stole the car.

The two of them missed Peter Franks rushing out of the building and jumping back into the black saloon.

~Q~

Q was busy working on his computer trying to track down any information regarding the possibility of chemical weapons being brought into Europe. He had felt a clawing fear building inside himself as thoughts of his sister’s involvement with these people. If he hadn’t recognized her before Bond intercepted her, if Bond hadn’t been sent to stop Tawfeek from meeting her, what would have happened to her? How deep would she have gotten into this insane plan?

Q was concentrating so hard he missed the knock on the door.

“Housekeeping?” the woman’s voice said through the door. Q didn’t so much as ignored it as he simply didn’t hear it.

The sound of a metal scraping metal came from the antique lock and door opened.

“Housekeeping?” the woman’s voice said again. This time Q heard it but it didn’t register she was speaking English.

“Später, bitte.” Q said quickly. His accent abysmal.

It took several minutes until he felt the sensation of someone watching him. He glanced over at the attractive young woman with milk chocolate skin. Her eyes were large and round. Her hair was shorter than his and cut to accentuate the sculpture of her high cheek bones.

The .45 caliber Browning automatic with a silencer attached to it was just as impressive as the woman’s beauty.

She smiled innocently at him as he looked surprised at her. Instinctually, he reached for his mobile that sat on the desk. She pulled the trigger without seeming to even aim. The gun fired and although it had a silencer, it was still loud in the hotel room; like the pop from a champagne bottle.

The mobile shattered. Glass and plastic spraying across the desk. Q jerked his hand back out of the way.

“Uht-uha.” The dark skinned woman waved the index finger of her left hand at the frightened young man. “We are just getting to know each other. Let’s not make this difficult.”

“Who are you?” Q asked.

“Giacinta Johnson, but my friends call me Jinx.” Her accent was mid-western American. She waved her hand to signal him to stand up. “Come along, I have a friend who wants to meet you.”

“Stromsburg?” Q asked.

“Not sure who you are talking about. My friend’s name is Felix.”

Q stood and raised his hands. She waved for him to put them down. He moved to walk out of the room and she stepped up behind him, press the barrel of the gun into ribs.

“Now nice and slow. And we are taking the stairs, not the elevator.” Jinx said.

“Who are you? Who do you work for? CIA?”

“Not that it matters, but NSA.” Jinx said as she pushed Q passed the lift doors and down the stairs.

“NSA?! Why would they . . . who do you think I am?” Q asked as the woman marched him down the carpeted stairs.

“Archangel. We’ve been tracking you since you left Russia.”

“Oh, God. You’ve got it all wrong. I’m not Archangel.” Q said. He tried to stop but Jinx just pushed him further down the stairs and towards the front door.

Outside on the street was a black Audi, with a man behind the wheel. He glance up as Jinx and Q stepped out into the sunlight. Q recognized him as the man Bond had punched off the bridge in Venice.

“Felix Leiter.” Q said as Jinx opened the back door and pushed Q into the car.

“Yes, hello Archangel.” The black man said as he gunned the car.

Q was pushed back into the seat and glanced as Jinx turned and pointed her gun right at him.

“Look, there has been a terrible mistake and you are not going to believe who I am. But trust me . . . we are working on the same side.” Q said wondering if he should tell these two who he actually was. Would they believe that they had confused the Quartermaster of MI6 for a terrorist? “Please believe me. Contact James Bond. He will explain.”

“The next time I see Bond, I’m going to break his limey nose with my fist.” Leiter growled. “Now shut up.”

Q paled as he leaned back further into the leather seats. There was no way that the two Americans would believe him if he did tell them the truth. He just hoped he could escape before they had him on a plane to some black ops prison for enhanced interrogation.

“How can I convince you that you have got this backwards? I’m actually one of the good guys.” Q plead.

Felix laughed from the front seat. “That claim didn’t help Snowden, I doubt it will help some geeky Brit.”

“No, please . . . just speak to Bond. I work with him.” Q thought maybe he could claim to be a computer tech sent to assist the operative on a mission. “We are here to stop who Archangel was going to work for. Archangel is . . .” The realization hit Q hard again. He reached up and rubbed his eyes as they started to sting again with tears. “She is gone . . . dead.”

“Well, he’s not only a cybercriminal, he’s also a feminist. Congratulations for trying to say that one of the most sought after hacker in the world is a woman.” Jinx said sitting beside him.

“She is . . . was. She was killed in Venice.” Q looked into the rearview mirror at Felix. “You saw her. She was with me on that bridge before James punched you.”

Jinx laughed as she glanced at Felix’s scowling face. Felix growled and turned the car suddenly down a street. The two people on the backseat where tossed together. Jinx recovered quicker than Q. Her gun stayed pointed at Q’s abdomen as she pouted at Felix.

~Q~

“What do you think happened?” Alec asked as he checked his weapon.

James was driving as fast as he could through the heavy Viennese traffic. He swerved around a bus and into oncoming traffic; rushing pass the bus and back into his own lane as car horns honked and people shouted at him.

“Maybe Stromsburg found him.” James said. There was marked tension in his voice.

Alec glanced sideways at him before returning his attention to the map on his mobile.

“They’ve turned down the street up ahead. Right hand turn in a block.”

“We shouldn’t have left him alone.” James said.

Alec hummed and reached out to brace himself against the dashboard as James turned the car to the right, not slowing down, the tires squealed on the tarmac.

“If Stromsburg has him, then we have time. They want Q alive to do the hacking.” Alec said. “Left turn in two streets.”

The car turned left while more horns honked and swerved to avoid Bond and Alec. The two men were silent for several seconds, before Alec said what had been hanging between them since they found out Q was moving.

“What if he is alone?” Alec said.

“He’s not.”

Alec sighed. “James, what if he was working with his sister? What if the two of them were Archangel together? He would be in the perfect position as Quartermaster to cover up their activities.”

“NO.” James growled.

Alec leaned back into the seat. There was no way to be certain that Q wasn’t as guilty as his sister until they finally returned to England and sorted everything out, but it was obvious that his best friend was compromised. James wouldn’t believe or even consider Q being guilty. Alec was going to have to bring Q in on his own.

“They’ve stopped.” Alec said looking at his mobile. “The building on the right.”

Bond slowed the stolen taxi down and drove past the building. It appeared to be an office building under renovation. There were wooden barricades blocking the front of the building and the windows were covered with sheets of plywood.

Bond glanced around and found a parking place on the opposite side of the road. He made an illegal turn and cut in front of several cars. More tires screeched and fists were waved at the two men as they got out of the stolen car.

Bond glanced up and down the street then rushed across, dodging the cars as he did so. Alec was right behind him. They split up as soon as they made it to the pavement on the opposite side. James went to the blocked front door while Alec worked around to the side of the building. The two glanced at each other before James nodded and Alec disappeared.

Bond removed his gun from its holster and pushed the door open. He slammed his body to the side of the door and waited a few seconds before stepping into the darkness of the empty building. There were signs of construction work being done in the building but the workers were absent that day. There were tarps covering the tile floors and paint buckets with scaffolding. The rooms smelled of sawdust and latex paint. Bond went down the center hall, checking each room as he came to it. There was no sign of Q or Stromsburg.

Alec came in through a back door and met up with James at the foot of the stairs. James nodded to the staircase and the two men slowly started to walk up. James’ attention focused on what was in front of them as Alec kept glancing back to make sure no one was sneaking up on them from the bottom.

The landing of the first floor also had tarps laid down but this time they covered dark hardwood floors. There were at least six doors leading off the hallway on either side. James waved his left hand to one side. Alec nodded. James stepped to the left while Alec went to the first door on the right. They were checking room after room when they heard voices talking down the hall.

The two men moved rapidly to the door and listened.

“If you would listen to me, we could work together to bring him down.”

Alec and James recognized Q’s voice. There was a low answering male voice, but it was too soft for either man to hear clearly.

“You are wasting time. This will hinder US/UK relationships . . .” Q said.

James stepped back and raised his foot. He kicked the door just under the door handle. The wood snapped and broke. The door slammed open and banged into the wall as the hinges snapped and gave way. Bond fired high then ducked to the side.

Alec entered first, rolling across the floor and coming up on his knee. His gun tight in his grip and pointed at three people in the room. James stayed by the door. He fired into the room again and again aiming high over their heads. Felix and Jinx were looking at Bond instead of Alec, when they opened fire and shot towards the door. Bond had already ducked out of the way as the bullets zipped passed him.

Q dropped to the floor. He pulled himself into a ball and waited for the shooting to stop.

Alec didn’t fire but shouted. “Drop it! NOW!”

Jinx and Felix glanced over to the man kneeling behind a stack of wood paneling. Both of them quickly twisted and aimed at Alec, but Bond appeared in the doorway. His gun pointed right at the two American agents.

“You won’t survive.” He said darkly.

Jinx and Felix looked back and forth between the two men, then slowly raised their hands. The barrels of their guns pointed at the ceiling.

“Bond, you son of a bitch . . .” Felix growled.

Alec stood up and walked around the stack of wood. Bond stepped into the room. His gun still pointed at the two black people.

“Felix, we have got to quit meeting like this.” Bond smiled. He stepped over and stood next to the huddled Q. “Are you alright?”

Q looked up at Bond. “Must you always shoot first then ask questions? It is highly inefficient.”

Bond reached down and picked up the pouting Quartermaster. “Always a pleasure, Q.”

“Q?! He really is working with you?” Felix asked as Alec removed the gun from the black man’s hand. Alec had already taken Jinx’s gun away.

“Felix Leiter, may I introduce my Quartermaster, Q. Q, this is Felix.” Bond said teasingly.

“Yes, Felix Leiter, CIA. I remember him from your mission in Libya.” Q said. He hesitated then reached out his hand to Felix. “I would say nice to meet you but . . .”

Felix frowned as he shook Q’s hand.

“So CIA and MI6 have been chasing after each other?” Felix asked as looked back and forth between Bond and Alec.

“Not exactly.” Q said. “Like I was trying to explain before my agents decided to come in here with guns blazing.”

“Next time we’ll just forget about you. How does that sound?” Alec growled.

Q ignored the interruption. “Archangel is . . . dead. She was killed in Venice. We are here tracking down who hired her. We have reason to believe that the man’s name is Karl Stromsburg and he is trying to alter the elections in Germany.”

“Karl Stromsburg has been on the CIA watch list for several months now.” Felix said. He glanced at Jinx. The woman nodded her head.

“Stromsburg was financially supporting extremist groups in the US. Real nut cases.” Jinx said. “NSA picked up on chatter between some Neo-Nazi hate group and Stromsburg’s advisor.”

“So are you after Archangel or Stromsburg?” James asked. He kept his hand protectively wrapped around Q’s arm.

“We were after Archangel. We have reason to believe he . . . she was directly responsible for hacking the DNC. We were led to believe she was Russian.” Jinx said.

“She would have done that.” Q said somberly. “It was her style.”

“You knew her?” Jinx asked.

James squeezed Q’s arm. Q blinked and then straightened his shoulders. “She was British. Young and intelligent. Yes, I knew her.”

Q said nothing else. Alec and James remained silent, their expression divulged nothing.

“Alright, then. I guess we return to Langley and give our report. Our mission is done.” Felix said. He held out his hand. “I would like my gun back.”

“You’re mission has expanded.” Bond said as he nodded his head for Alec to return the guns. “We believe Stromsburg is trying to obtain chemical weapons to use in Europe. Maybe Germany, maybe Austria.”

“Why?” Felix asked. His eyebrows drew together as he stared at Bond.

“He was working with Tawfeek to get more than just Archangel’s help. He wanted something that Tawfeek could get for him.” Bond explained.

“And you think it was Sarin or Agent 15?” Felix asked doubtful.

“Think about every major election in the past eighteen months. Just before them, there has been an information leak or a major terrorist attack. It seems rather coincidental if not actually planned.”

Felix and Jinx glanced at each other. There had been major hacks in the American and French elections as well as incidents of terrorist attacks.

“Okay, and you are linking Stromsburg to these attacks?” Felix asked.

“Maybe not to the terrorist attacks but definitely to the hacks. If he releases Sarin in Europe and makes everyone believe it was done by radical Islamist extremists, think what will happen here. Look at what is happening now in America and increase it tenfold.”

“Oh, God . . . it could be a genocide.” Jinx whispered.

“And with governments unwilling and incapable of stopping it . . .” Bond said.

“A new crusade. Another world war.” Felix understood.

The first bullet came through the door and hit Jinx in the shoulder. She screamed as she fell to the floor. Felix and Alec immediately returned fire as Bond pulled Q back and pushed him down under some scaffolding. A bullet ricocheted off the metal piping as Q ducked down. Bond turned and fired his gun at the open door. A man groaned and fell backwards and into the hall.

Felix duck down and crawled over to where Jinx was laying on the floor. He grabbed her by uninjured shoulder and pulled her behind some construction material.

“Who is it?” Alec asked James. Both men returned fire at the door as another shooter appeared.

“Probably Stromsburg.” Bond said as he waited for the assailant to pop his head around the corner.

“Get Q out of here!” Alec said as they saw two more men appear at the door, firing rapidly into the room.

Felix slipped around the stack of building supplies and fired. “Alec and I will keep everyone busy. Take Jinx with you.”

“To hell with that!” The woman shouted. She rolled up on her uninjured side and started shooting at the door. More gunfire was returned.

Bond squatted down next to Q and looked around. There were no other exits in the room. The bank of windows were soaped so he couldn’t see out of them, but the last window on the right had a construction debris shoot attached to the open window frame.

Bond tapped Q on the shoulder and pointed to the round plastic orange circle. It looked like a gapping maw.

“You must be joking!” Q shouted over the sound of gun fire.

Bond smiled and grabbed Q’s shoulder. The two men ran hunched over to the window. Bond practically threw Q through the window and down the debris shoot. Q went down the plastic tube feet first, disappearing. Bond paused and looked back over this shoulder. He wanted to stay and fight, but his Quartermaster was his responsibility. Felix and Alec were on their feet and moving towards the door. They were forcing the attacker back into the hallway. Bond grabbed the window frame and jumped into the orange shoot feet first. Seconds later he was landing in a large construction bin, thankful for the torn cardboard and insulation for the softer landing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope I haven't offended anyone with using current events in this story. I do enjoy your comments and support. Thank you.


	13. The Third Man

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bond ends up in his own espionage movie.

Q was already climbing out of the metal bin when Bond landed in the debris. Bond quickly followed him out. The sounds of gun fire were getting quieter as the shooting moved deeper into the building. The car James and Alec had stolen was in front of the building. More than likely so were more of Stromsburg’s men. James grabbed Q by the upper arm and pushed him down the alley between the buildings.

They came out on the street behind the building. The traffic was lighter over here. Suddenly, a bullet bounced off the limestone wall beside Bond’s head. The limestone shards stung as they sprayed across James’ cheek.

Bond pushed Q back down the alley and up against the wall. He cover Q’s body with his own as he took a quick glance around the corner. Peter Franks was running down the pavement towards them. Bond brought his gun up and fired. Missing Franks but making the man dodge and jump behind a parked vehicle.

The sound of their running feet echoed off the buildings on either side of them. They could hear Franks shouting in German as he tried to organize his men to give pursuit.

James and Q came rushing out of the alley on the front side of the building. The afternoon traffic was heavier here. James pulled Q out into the road. Cars swerved and horns honked as the two men tried to cross the road through the speeding cars. The deep blare of a trunk horn accompanied the sound of airbrakes engaging. The large truck tires squealed across the tarmac.

Bond let go of Q as he looked up and saw the lorry barreling down on him. There was no escape. The front grill hit him and shoved the agent forward. Bond flew through the air and landed on the bonnet of small coupe. His head crashing through the windscreen.

Q was in shock. He stood as he watched Bond’s lifeless body rest on the bonnet of the small car. The blonde’s face was covered with blood. His gun slipped from his hand and clattered to the ground.

Franks ran up and grabbed Q. He pushed the barrel of his Sig Sauer into Q’s side.

“Don’t say a word.” Franks hissed into Q’s ear.

The younger man’s attention was still fixed on Bond as cars stop and on-lookers gather around.

More of Franks’ men approach. He nodded his head towards the unconscious man. Three men dressed in dark suits grabbed Bond’s lifeless body and pulled him off the bonnet of the car. Spectators startled by the abrupt treatment began questioning the men and shouted ‘no’. Franks pulled Q down the alley and out to the other street. He pushed the young man into the backseat of a saloon.

Bond was tossed onto the floor, at Q’s feet. Franks got in and pointed the gun at Q. A driver got behind the wheel and car pulled out into traffic.

Alec and Felix emerged from the building, supporting Jinx. The three agents watched the car drove away. Q twisted and looked out the back window. Alec immediately recognized the black frame glasses. He hissed as he reached for his mobile. The dot representing Q’s tracker was moving away from him again.

~Q~

Bond was a wake before anyone realized it. He had taught himself to remain still and keep his eyes closed as his other senses assessed his surroundings. He could feel he was laying on a hard damp surface. It felt both gritty and slimy. The bite of zip-ties held his wrists together at the small of his back. The muscles in his shoulders were beginning to complain. The familiar ache of his head told him he had a concussion. Yet another one for Medical to document if he got back to London.

The air was stale, and smelled of rainwater and refuse. He could hear cascading water in the distance, like a stream or waterfall, but he was somewhere warmer than the Austrian countryside in February. From the echo of voices, he knew he was not outside, it was like a cavern or a cathedral. Then he heard music. It was soft and far away but he could make out the tune. It was familiar but then again not. Something from long ago. It was happy music but didn’t induce a feeling of happiness in Bond. More like regret.

Bond concentrated on the song. He recognized the distinctive sound of a Zither instrument. The high pitch jingles of a metal stringed guitar. Then he heard the low melodious voice of a man. The voice was very familiar.

“You know what the fellow said . . . In Italy, for thirty years under the Borgias, they had warfare, terror, murder, and bloodshed, but they produced Michelangelo, Leonardo de Vinci and the Renaissance. In Switzerland, they had brotherly love . . . They had five hundred years of democracy and peace . . . And what did they produce? The Coo-coo Clock.”

Bond knew that quote. It was from one of his favorite movies. Graham Green’s ‘The Third Man’.

‘ _Great . . .’_ Bond thought. _‘I’m in the sewers.’_

It was a joke until Bond opened his eyes and saw the ancient brick walls of Vienna’s famous underground sewers. A distant light from down the tunnel barely illuminated the area where Bond was laying. In the distance, he could still hear Orson Well’s voice as he quoted another line from the movie. Bond recognized the music as being the theme song from ‘The Third Man’ movie. It was surreal. Bond wondered if his concussion was worse than he realized. _‘Who the hell would be watching a movie in the sewers?’_ he thought. The distant lighting changed from blue to white.

“How long does this damn tour last?”

Bond heard a man speaking behind him in German.

“They will be moving on in about five minutes. But we can’t use a gun. They will hear us.” Another voice spoke in German.

“Franks said to drown him.” The first voice said.

Bond lay still while he listened to the music and Orson Wells speak his familiar lines from the movie. The music stopped and then there was a distant sound of more voices again. The tour group must be moving down the tunnels to another spot where parts of the movie were filmed.

“Should we wait for Franks?” The second voice asked behind Bond’s back.

“Yes, Franks wants to question him first.”

One of the men walked up behind Bond and kicked him in the shoulder. Bond grunted and tried to roll away.

“He’s awake.” The first man said. “Help me.”

Bond heard the second man approach. His shoes scrapping on the old brick floor. They both reached down and hoisted Bond up by his shoulders. He groaned again and slumped in their grasps. They started to walk down the tunnel and closer to the light.

Bond made sure both men had to carry his total weight. They struggled as they drug the man down the slippery stones. Suddenly, Bond stood up straight on his own feet, tipping both men off balance. Bond lifted his right leg and kicked sideways at the man beside him. Bond’s foot landed right on the outside of the man’s knee. The joint hyper-flexed to the inside and the man collapsed in a stifled scream.

Bond spun and head butted the other man, then kicked the man’s legs out from underneath him. The man crashed to the ground. Bond kicked at his head. He heard the sound of breaking bone as the heel of his shoe connected with the man’s jaw.

Bond bent forward at the waist and slipped his hands down, lower than his hips. He twisted his hands so the inside of each wrist was touching, then he stood up quickly as he pulled his hands apart. The plastic zip-tie snapped and Bond’s hands were free.

The first man was reaching inside his jacket. Bond kicked the man’s arm as he pulled a gun out. It clattered across the stones and halted just at the edge of the water. Bond kicked again and this time the man’s head snapped back hard. He fell lifeless onto the brick floor.

For just a moment, Bond remain completely still. He heard nothing but the sound of rushing water coming from somewhere deep in the tunnels. He retrieved the gun and headed towards the light.

Again he heard the music but it was farther away. Deeper in one of the tunnels. The deep rumble of Orson Wells’ voice and lyrical sound of Joseph Cotton tumbled down the passageways. Bond stopped and listened. He twisted around trying to determine where the sound was coming from.

A gunshot rang out and the sound of a ricochet bouncing off the walls drowned out Joseph Cotton’s voice. Bond took off running down a corridor and towards the sound of falling water. Another gunshot and then the sound of pursuing footsteps.

Bond suddenly found himself in his own version of ‘The Third Man’. Running through the sewers of Vienna as shots rang out around him. His footsteps echoed off the brick walls, floor, and ceilings. There was very little light but Bond ran to wherever he saw it coming from. The music was getting louder. Bond ducked out from a narrow tunnel and found himself standing on a concrete step that led up to bridge, over a collection point. The water flowed over the edge of the basin and cascaded down a twenty foot sloping wall and into a larger river of water. The bridge only had a railing on one side and led across to a set of stairs and more corridors. It looked familiar and Bond realized it had been used in the movie.

As he started to run across it, as a rosy pink light turned on. He heard Wells say, “Nobody thinks in terms of human beings. Governments don’t. Why should we? . . . They talk about the people and the proletariat, I talk about the suckers and the mugs . . . it’s the same thing. They have their five-year plan, so have I.”

Orson Wells’ smug face flashed on the brick wall above James’ head. Bond spun and pointed his gun at the wall surprised by the sudden appearance of the man. He lowered his weapon then quickly glanced around and realized that he had triggered a motion detector that turned on the clip and started the soundtrack. Bond stepped off the bridge and onto a narrow ledge than led into another drainage tunnel. He went into the tunnel until he was concealed by the inky darkness. Bond waited. He heard the approaching footsteps. Memories of the movie came back to him of Orson Wells trying to escape through the tunnels and being pursued by Joseph Cotton. Bond shook his head. His concussion was definitely worse than he originally thought.

The footsteps sounded closer. Bond took one step closer to the opening but remained in the shadows.

Franks stepped up onto the bridge and started to run across it. The motion detector tripped and Orson appeared on the wall. Franks fired at the image of the long dead actor. Bond stepped into the light and fired too. The bullet hit Franks square in the chest. The man fell backwards and into the metal railing of the bridge. He tipped over the edge, but grabbed the top rail as he body draped down into the sweeping waterfall.

Bond stepped out of the shadows and up to the railing. He looked down into Franks sweating face. The man tried to raise his right hand to shoot Bond, the agent easily kicked the gun from the man’s hand. It landed in the water and disappeared. The sound of the splash silenced by the sound of Wells’ sucker speech.

“Where is Q?” Bond asked as he held his gun pointed at Franks’ face.

“Shoot, I won’t tell you.” The man gasped as he fought to hold onto the railing. The ice cold water splashed over his body and washed away the blood that was seeping from his body.

“You’ve lost. Tell me and I’ll let you leave here alive.” Bond said.

“We will never lose! We are right! Superior to you and your pathetic philosophies. We are the new future of Germany and the world!” Franks sneered before glancing back at his slipping fingers. “You need me alive to find him. Get me up!”

“The weapons? When will they arrive?” Bond asked.

Franks glanced back at the man with wide eyes. “Save me and I’ll tell you! I’ll take you to the hacker!”

“The weapons?!” Bond glared at the man.

“Never! Stromsburg has already found a new source for the Sarin! It will be here soon! Save me if you ever want to see the bastard again!”

“I’ll find him without you.”

Instead of shooting the man, Bond slammed the butt of the gun down hard on Franks’ fingers. The man shouted as his fingers flexed and his grip on the slippery rail gave way. He fell down the twenty foot water fall and into the rushing waters of the sewer.

Franks shouted and twisted in the freezing water. He opened his mouth to scream but sewer water rushed in and drowned his words. Franks flayed in the water then disappeared into the darkness as the water flowed down an enclosed tunnel and away from Bond and the image of Harry Lime.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The Third Man is considered to be one of the best espionage movies ever made. It is not as fast pace or exciting as a James Bond movie but it is one of my favorite movies. It was filmed in Vienna after World War II while the city was still being occupied by the Allies. Many scenes show the destruction of the city from the war. Joseph Cotton goes to meet his friend in Vienna only to arrive while his friend is being buried. Joseph Cotton talks to a witness to his friend's accident and learns there was a third man there but no one will tell him who the man was. As the movie progresses not everything is as it seems and the people you think are heroes may not be.  
> While I was researching for this story, I discovered that there really is a tour you can take into the sewers of Vienna. Clips of the movie are shown as you walk through the sewers.  
> Orson Wells always claimed he ad-libbed the line about the Coo-coo clock but Graham Green said that most of the dialog was already in the script. Many consider it to the best movie Wells ever did after Citizen Kane. The chase scene through the sewers is iconic.


	14. The Last Hurrah

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What happened to Q while Bond was lost in the sewers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a few more chapters to finish up the story. Several people have commented on the fact this reads like a movie. I really wanted to be very movie like. I'm glad it is coming across like one of the James Bond movies.

The room was dark. Q could smell dampness and mildew. He stepped to the door of the small room he had been tossed into and felt around the edges. There were no light switches. His hands moved over the door twice before he convinced himself there wasn’t even a door handle on this side of the door. Using his fingertips, Q slowly mapped the wall beside the door till he came to a corner. He turned and followed that wall to another corner. There was no furniture or other obstacles he could find as he felt his way around the pitch dark room. The walls were cool to the touch and felt like concrete. He followed each wall till it led him back to the door. The room was square and small, maybe twelve foot by twelve foot. When he reached back to the door, he slid down the wall and sat down on the floor. There was no sound at all. Q felt completely cut off.

Earlier, Franks had pushed Q and Bond into a car and drove west. They drove out of the city and passed scenic looking clusters of houses and up-scaled private homes. Then into an area of large private estates. The houses were hidden from the road by large stone walls and privacy fencing.

A set of iron gates swung open on a gravel drive and the saloon drove into the protected area behind tall trees and an eight foot tall rock wall. The car parked and the door beside Q opened. Franks waved his gun at Q as he was yanked from the car.

“Bond!” Q shouted but the agent was still unconscious on the floor of the car.

Q was dragged to a side building, not into the house proper. He was pulled down a flight of stairs and pushed through an open door. Suddenly the door was slammed shut and Q was alone, in the dark. Complete darkness. Only a narrow crack of light slipped in under the door. It cast faint illumination across the floor for only a few inches.

The darkness was overwhelming. After a several minutes, Q’s mind began to play tricks on him. Shapes and colors began to swirl in his vision only to disappear into the inky blackness. His heart rate increased when his imagination created monsters approaching him in the darkness. Large hideous creatures snapping their jaws at him. He pulled his knees to his chest and wrapped his arms around them, holding them close.

Q closed his eyes and tried to force his mind; to concentrate on other things. He started with a Fibonacci sequence counting out to one hundredth place. Then he calculated Pi to the tenth digit, then the twentieth, then the thirtieth. He mentally disassembled every piece of tech he had ever built for 007 and then mentally reassembled it.

Q was shaking with fear and anxiety. He wondered where Bond was. If the man was alright. In his mind, Q pictured the smug expression on the operative’s face. His cheekiness whenever he talked with Q. He missed Bond and wished he was here with Q at this very moment. Q began to wonder if he would ever see the blonde again. Flashes of James’ naked body came rushing unexpectedly back into Q’s mind. The look on Bond’s face as he lay over the top of Q. The sensation of James’ hands on his body. The images relaxed Q’s fears but intensified his loneliness.

Q knew he wasn’t a brave man. He feared physical pain but the isolation torture he was enduring would be what would break him. Stromsburg was intelligent. He would crush Q’s spirit without leaving a single visible mark on the man’s body.

Q wiped away the first tear and returned to calculating Pi again.

When the sound of approach footsteps across concrete could be heard, Q was unsure how long he had been left in the dark. With a click, a single light bulb snapped on and illuminated the small room. After so long in the dark, Q’s instant reaction was to first cover his eyes, then be grateful to whomever had just turned on the light.

The door opened and Stromsburg came into the room with two men. One of the men was carrying a simple wooden chair. He set it down in the center of room. Then the two men came over and yanked Q off the floor and pushed him into the chair. Q was still blinking his eyes trying to get accustom to the light.

“Are you ready to assist me, Archangel?” Stromsburg asked.

“Where is Bond?” Q asked avoiding looking up into the light.

“In the other room.” Stromsburg lied. “He is awake now and will be enjoying Franks’ personal attention unless you help us.”

Q felt sick. “I want to speak to him.”

“No, you will do as you are told and then we let you leave. If you do not . . . then you will get to listen to him being tortured while you wait here.” Stromsburg said coldly. “Franks is very talented. He can drag this out for hours.”

Q wanted to rip the man’s face off. Rage burned rapidly through his veins. Before he controlled himself, Q leaped off the chair and threw himself at Stromsburg. He almost had his hands around the man’s neck when one of the guards punched Q hard in the solar plexus. Q doubled over, gasping for breath.

Stromsburg ignored him and waved the two men out of the room. They closed the door and turned off the light. Q was left on the floor in darkness again, but this time it wasn’t silent. He heard something that sounded like drill then the shilled scream of someone being tortured.

Q pulled himself into a tight ball and covered his ears with his palms. This time he did nothing to hide the tears.

~Q~

Bond wandered around the labyrinth of sewers for an hour. Every door he came to that looked like it led upward was locked. Every staircase led to more tunnels. He kept walking in the direction of lights only to track back on himself and returned back to the bridge with images of Orson Wells illuminated on the walls. Frustration mounted as he listened to Orson say the lines again, _“_ _They talk about the people and the proletariat, I talk about the suckers and the mugs . . . it’s the same thing.”_ Bond was feeling like one of the suckers. He wondered if anyone got so lost down in the tunnels and were never found.

It took another half hour until he came across another tour group. He explained to the guide that he had been with an earlier group and become separated. When the tour guide asked about the blood and bruises on Bond, the agent said he had fallen in the darkness and hurt himself. Fearful, the tour guide rushed the group to the surface where Bond quickly slipped away from the frightened tourists in search of a phone.

Twenty minutes after he had escaped the sewers, he was climbing into a car driven by Alec. Alec looked at James for a moment then wrinkled his nose and rolled the window down letting in cold February air.

“Were you rolling around in a dung pile?” Alec asked with a sneer.

“Enjoying a retrospective in the sewers.”

“A what where?!” Alec shifted the car into gear and took off.

“Franks dumped me in the sewers under the city.”

“You look like you’ve been hit by a lorry.”

“I think I might have been. It’s all a little fuzzy.” Bond said as he closed his eyes and leaned back.

“Are you going to be able to do this?” Alec asked concerned. James really didn’t look good. There was dried blood on his head, and he was favoring his left side.

“I’m fine. Where is Q?” Bond growled as he opened his eyes again.

“Thankfully, not with you. He’s in a house on the outskirts of town. Tracker is still sending.”

“Does it register if he is alive or just there?” Bond asked fearing the worse.

“Just that he is there.” Alec turned the car onto a major road that would quickly take them to the edge of the city. “Felix and Jinx won’t be able to join us.”

Bond looked over at his friend with a stoic expression. “Jinx?”

“She’s fine. She is tougher than she looks.”

“I know that. What happened back at the building?” Bond asked.

“We killed everyone Stromsburg sent in there. Five in all. Felix contacted the CIA and they evac’ed her out. Apparently, the CIA has a leak. That was supposed to be the extraction point for Felix to get Archangel out of the country. The extraction team wasn’t supposed to be there for an hour but Stromsburg’s Stormtroopers got there first.” Alec sighed. “Felix is after blood. He wants to know who the leak is.”

“Could the information have been hacked?” James asked.

“Don’t know. If they have a hacker that can get into the CIA that quickly and tell Stromsburg real time events, they are not going to need Q are they?”

“No . . .”

Alec pressed the accelerator down. The small car picked up speed and raced down the road.

~Q~

Q was not left alone for long this time. The light turned back on in less than an hour, but Q was already broken by the time Stromsburg came back in. Q had listened to the sounds of torture and screams. His imagination filled in the blanks as to what Franks could be doing to Bond.

Stromsburg opened the door and this time, he was followed by several of his men who brought in a table and two different computers. The men ignored the man curled up on the floor as they set up the table and computers. Once everything was ready, they picked Q up off the floor and set him back into the chair.

“Are you ready to help?” Stromsburg asked.

“Just stop hurting him.” Q whispered. “Don’t hurt James anymore.”

Stromsburg laughed. Q looked up at the two computers. He reached forward and turned the computers on. The screens flickered then immediately came up. Q began typing. Within a few moments Q asked, “Where do you want me to start first?”

“The BND then the CDU.” Stromsburg’s laughter slipped away quickly. His eyes started burning bright with appetite.

“What do you want from the German Secret Service? Where should I look?” Q asked as he typed.

“I need to know what they have on Angela Merkel and Martin Schultz.” Stromsburg stepped forward.

“Also Lehmann and German Democratic Homeland Party?” Q asked looking up at him through his fringe.

Q watched as Stromsburg’s expression turned livid. His face reddened and a fire roared behind his eyes. Stromsburg backed handed Q across his face. The young man was pushed out of the chair by the force of the strike. His glasses skidded across the concrete floor.

“What do you know!?” Stromsburg shouted.

“I know your plans. I know what you are trying to do.” Q said calmly as he climbed back to his feet. He stepped over and carefully picked up his glasses, examining them for damage.

“It doesn’t matter . . .” Stromsburg said to himself. “It won’t matter.” He looked back at Q. “Finish your job and I will reunite you with your precious Bond. If you don’t, he will suffer more.”

Q retook his seat and began typing. It took him time to get into German Federal Intelligence Service. He kept typing as Stromsburg paced around the small cell. Q alternated between the two different computers attempting his break-in into the BND network through two different attacks.

“What did you do to James?” Q asked not stopping his typing.

Stromsburg glanced at the young man and smiled.

“Don’t worry. He is still alive. Unfortunately his pristine skin is no longer blemish free.”

Q’s imagination took hold as he worked. The sounds he had heard were terrifying. He wondered if Bond would forgive him for standing by as the man was tortured. The words played in Q’s head, _‘his pristine skin._ ’ Q’s memory flashed back to the man walking naked around him. His glorious tanned flesh on display for Q to see. The feel of James’ skin as they showered together after being rescued from the freezer. The warmth of James body as they lay together in the bed. Q remembered the texture of James’ skin. The heat of his touch. Q remembered his hands tracing along James’ shoulders and over the scar from Patrice’s bullet.

The scars on James’ body.

“Patrice’s bullet” Q whispered.

His fingers paused. Held still over the top of the computer keys.

“What? What did you say?” Stromsburg asked.

“I want to see James.” Q said. His hands remained still, frozen over the keys.

“After you are done. After I have the information.”

Q pulled his hands back and set them in his lap.

“I will see him before I continue.” Q said louder. He wanted to believe he was right. He wanted to believe that Stromsburg had somehow tricked him into believing Bond had been tortured when in fact he wasn’t even there. Q wanted to believe Bond had escaped.

Stromsburg growled and stomped around the room. “FINISH!”

Q remained still in the chair. He closed his eyes and drew on what was left of his emotional strength.

“No.”

Stromsburg lunged at Q but the young man remained still. He didn’t put his hands up to defend himself. He didn’t look at Stromsburg. He didn’t even acknowledge him. Stromsburg roared and shouted as the young man bowed his head and smiled secretively.

“Bond is not here, is he? You made everything up.”

“He is here! I will kill him in front of you!”

“No, you won’t. James is too smart. He escaped you. Probably killed Franks doing it.” Q finally glanced at the enraged man. “Your time here is limited. He will be coming for me and when he does . . .”

“He is dead already!” Stromsburg shouted.

“Then you have no hold over me. I will not finish the hack.”

“Then you are worthless to me. I will shoot you!” Stromsburg stormed out of the room.

He left Q alone with the two computers. Q went to work quickly. He was already in the BND system. He typed in the code and opened a file. He typed in the message then turned the screen off so the computer looked like it was turned off.

He knew he was not a brave man, but Q could at least give his life to stop Karl Stromsburg.

 


	15. Jagdkommando

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> James and Alec try to rescue Q but who is going to rescue the agents.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> After watching the news, I feel I need to say that this story does not depict anyone specific or any organization, political or otherwise. I do not own any rights to the James Bond media. This is not a commentary on any elections per say or any political group. I wrote this to be entertaining and nothing else.

Snow was beginning to fall. Large white snowflakes that slowly fell like angel feathers and lightly covered the ground before melting. It was a quarter to ten in the evening. Q had been in Stromsburg’s possession for over nine hours. James and Alec sat in the car as they stared at the closed gate and the private drive leading up to the large home. James’ fingers flexed around the grip of the gun Alec had supplied him. His mind raced as he thought of the different things Stromsburg could be doing to Q.

“Are you sure he is in there?” James asked. It had been nearly ten hours since the shootout at the deserted office building. Bond had spent most of the time unconscious then trying to figure out how to get out of the sewers.

“The tracker says he is in the building to the right and . . .” Alec glanced at his phone. “And three and half meters below ground. I have cased the entire property. The only blind spot is a row of trees next to wall fifty meters from the gate. I couldn’t make it over the wall by myself but now that you are here . . .”

Alec knew where Q was for the entire time. Just before going in to rescue the Quartermaster by himself, Alec received the call from James. He quickly abandoned his plan of a frontal assault and went to retrieve Bond. Together they might have a chance of rescuing their Quartermaster.

“Too deep for a grave.” Bond sighed, but it didn’t reassure him.

The two men sat and watched as the guards that had been posted around the grounds slowly slip back inside the buildings for warmth. Two remaining men were visibly walking behind the gate, but there could easily be more guards.

“Well?” Alec asked.

“Let’s go get Q.” James said as he checked his weapon one final time.

They opened their doors and started to walk towards the property. They were going to have to walk pass the iron gate and be seen by the men inside. As they approached the gate, James slipped his arm around Alec’s waist and Alec placed his arm over James’ shoulder. Alec was only half an inch taller than James, but he was broader in the chest and more imposing in presence.

As they walked passed the gate, Alec twisted his head and appeared to be kissing James’ temple as the shorter man dipped his head down to rest on Alec’s shoulder. Actually, Alec was getting a very good view of the interior of the property and where the various guards were standing.

As they walked by, they heard a hiss and snide comment about ‘poofs’. Neither man reacted. They kept walking down the pavement. There were no street lights so when they reached a small cluster of trees growing on the opposite side of the wall, they were in hidden.

“I didn’t see any wires or surveillance on the wall.” James said.

“There are cameras inside the courtyard, but they are pointed to the drive and the parking area.” Alec responded. “Are you ready?”

“GO.”

James bent over and cupped his hands. Alec stepped into them and James’ hoisted Alec up rapidly. The Russian grabbed the top of the wall and pulled himself the rest of the way up. He lay on the top of the wall and looked around. There were no alarms going off. No one was running towards them. Alec reached down and James jumped up and grabbed his arm. Together, the men worked to pull James to the top of the wall too.

They were hidden behind a group of evergreens. They slipped down and landed in a bed of soft pine needles. The sound of the landing was muffled. The snow was falling heavier now and soon would be accumulating on the ground.

Both men crouched down and ran towards the edge of the low building that the tracker said Q was in. They could hear a man cough. Then a muted conversation of two people. It was too soft for James or Alec to understand them, but it did tell the two agents how many targets they had to go through to get to Q.

James signaled for Alec to circle around the building and slip up behind them. James would take the frontal approach. Alec nodded and was off. James waited for several seconds then crept to the edge and glanced around the corner.

There were two men standing just inside the doorway that led into the building. They were standing under a slanted roof that gave them some shelter from the falling snow. James glanced quickly then pulled back. Alec had reached the corner and nodded to James.

James took a moment to still his anxiety. He need to save Andrew. He needed to get him away from here. When Bond could feel himself slip into mission mode, he clicked the safety off on his gun. He didn’t want to use it and divulge that they were there, but it was better to be prepared than dead.

“Hey, komm hier.” James said loud enough to be heard by the two men.

Their conversation stopped. Bond listened to the sound of boots walking through snow. Hearing the slight crunch as the men approached. Just as they reached the corner, Bond twisted around and met them. He pistol whipped the one on the right as Alec brought the butt of his gun down on the other one’s skull. Both men immediately went down. Neither one made a sound.

James and Alec grabbed the unconscious men and dragged them to the door. Alec tried the doorknob and it opened. He glanced at James, then kicked the door open. James’ gun was already up and ready to fire, but the room was empty. James and Alec dragged the two men inside and quickly closed the door.

For a moment they stood completely still and listened. No alarms were going off. No one was running towards them.

“You said three meters down. Basement.” James said looking around for stairs.

The two men split up and went in search. James found a set of stairs and whistled for Alec. He was already down the stairs when Alec reached the top. In the dim light coming down the stairs, James glance around him. It was a large room with computer servers and racks of weapons. In the far back wall he saw another door. On the wall beside it was simple ring with one key hanging on a hook.

Bond rushed over and grabbed the key. He unlocked the door and opened it. The room was completely black. James struggled but he couldn’t see anything inside the inky darkness. His mind raced as his heart began to beat wildly.

“Q!?” James shouted. He stepped into the room.

“James?”

Bond heard a soft whisper to his side.

Alec came down into the room and looked around. He saw a row of light switches and began turning on the lights. The room Bond had stepped into was suddenly lit. Bond glanced around and saw Q huddled in the corner.

James rushed over and lifted Q off the floor. His palms held the young man’s face as his eyes scanned over the man’s body. There was dark bruise on Q’s face and the young man was shaking, but James didn’t see anything else amiss. Q stared up at James, waiting for crystal blue eyes returned to his. When James finally met his, Q pushed forward and wrapped his arms around James’ shoulders and kissed him.

Q held tightly to the blonde as tears slipped from his stinging eyes. “You’re alive . . . you’re alive.” Q kept whispering over and over again. Q littered kisses across James’ face and mouth.

“Q . . . Q . . . Andrew! We need to get you out of here.” James started to pull the frightened young man from the room.

“He said you were dead. Stromsburg said he killed you.” Q explained as James pulled him towards the stairs. He reached up and wrapped his hand around James’ neck and pulled him down for another kiss.

“Do I get one too?” asked Alec as he watched Q and James. “I mean, I’m here to save you too.” He teased.

Frustration, anxiety and fear flashed through Q’s veins. So much tension so quickly burnt away. Rational conversation was not possible for the Quartermaster. Q was angry now. Angry at Stromsburg and at his sister but mostly angry at himself for believing the mad man.

“If you get me out of here, I’ll give you a fucking blowjob.” It sounded more like a threat than a promise.

Alec caught the flash of jealousy in James’ eyes. His eyes gleamed at his friend. “I think I’ll leave the blowjobs for James, but I would like a new gun.”

“Done.” Q said as James pulled the younger man closer.

“Let’s get out of here.” James said as he pulled Q up the stairs.

Just as they reached the top, the door of the building opened and Stromsburg started to enter. He glanced up just in time to see the three men emerge from the basement. Surprised, Stromsburg stumbled then stepped back and shouted.

“Shoot them!”

James pushed Q back behind him as he brought his gun up. Alec was already firing. The man beside Stromsburg fell, blocking the door. The other men fell back further and out into the storm. Stromsburg was shouting for his men to kill the British agents as James and Alec pressed forward.

As they made it to the door, James and Alec shot towards the men standing in the driveway. They had little in the way of protection from James and Alec’s bullets. Suddenly a car pulled up and Stromsburg’s men hid behind it. Now that they had shelter, they returned the gunfire in earnest.

James and Alec pulled back and hid around the corners of the door. Q was still in the back of the room laying on the floor. Three of Stromsburg’s men were with them, the two men that James and Alec had overpowered and the dead man. Alec quickly retrieved any weapons he could find on the three men and returned to James. He tossed James extra magazines of ammunition as bullets continued to fly through the open door.

“Any ideas?” Alec asked.

James shrugged. “Well, normally at times like this, Q does something to distract them. Like set off an alarms or something.” James teased as he glanced over his shoulder at the man behind him.

Suddenly, there was an explosion. James and Alec glanced out the door to see the front gate fall inward as flashes of blazing white light still burned at the hinges. Men in combat fatigues, were shooting over the top of the wall and shouting for Stromsburg’s men to put their weapons down. An armored personnel carrier drove into the courtyard; driving over the fallen gate as a spotlight mounted on the cab swept across the courtyard and illuminated the grounds.

Most of the men dropped their weapons. Some kept shooting but instead of shooting at James and Alec, they were now shooting at the Jagdkommando, the Austrian Army’s Special Forces. The soldiers were quickly killing anyone who resisted. The armored personnel carrier stopped and more troops piled out of it.

“How the bloody hell did he do that. . .” Alec moaned as he watched the soldiers swarm over the compound.

James twisted to look for Karl Stromsburg. The white haired man was running towards the house. James took off after him. He ran across the courtyard dodging the gunfire and the surrendering men. Stromsburg had run into the large house, leaving the front door open. James entered and saw the older man rush through another door. James followed him. His gun out and ready.

The door lead to another set of stairs going down to a second basement. This time the room was well lit and large. The walls were painted white. The table in the center of the room was covered with maps and diagrams.

Bond saw Stromsburg run into another room at the back. There was a large of window in the door that looked into the room. Bond rushed forward but stopped at the door. Stromsburg stood with a small metal canister in his hand. He held it up so Bond could see the writing on it. The NATO designation of ‘ **GB** ’, Sarin gas was clear to read.

Bond took a step back as Stromsburg advanced slowly.

“That is right, Mister Bond. The gas is already here. I was going to use it Cologne at a festival. But if you don’t get out of my way now . . . you will be the first to die from it.” Stromsburg held the canister up and threatened to throw it at Bond.

Bond stepped back again and stepped outside the smaller room.

“No, I’m not.” James said calmly.

Bond grabbed the doorknob just as he fired his gun. The bullet tore through the metal canister. The liquid inside sprayed across Stromsburg’s face. The older man gasped as he squeezed his eyes shut. Bond slammed the door closed and locked it. He took off his coat and pushed against the crack at the bottom of the door. The liquid, now aerosolized into a gas, could still leak out of the room but it would be much slower.

Stromsburg stumbled to the door. He pounded his fists against the glass window.

“LET ME OUT! HELP ME!”

Bond took another step back into the room.

“YOU FOOL! I AM GOING TO MAKE A BETTER EUROPE!” Stromsburg shouted as his skin blistered. His eyes contracted while he began to cough.

“Make it better by dying.” Bond said without emotion.

Stromsburg started to vomit. His body convulsed and as he grabbed for his throat. He fell to the floor and Bond could no longer see him. Bond knew the next symptom after convulsions was death through asphyxiation.

The Jagdkommando came rushing into the room. Bond held up his gun and raised his hands in surrender.

“GB gas has been released in that room. There is a dead man in there.” Bond said calmly.

The soldiers stepped back and grabbed gasmasks attached to their body armor. They quickly slipped the masks on while they held their guns on Bond.

“Were you exposed?” One soldier asked as he stepped forward.

“I was ten feet away when the canister was broken. I didn’t get any liquid on me, but . . .” Bond remained still as another soldier stepped forward and took the gun from Bond up stretched arm.

“Strip!” The first soldier ordered. “We have a decontamination area ready to go outside the wall. We also have antidote.”

Bond was not looking forward to walking across the yard, naked, in a snow storm, but it was a reasonable precaution given the circumstances. Bond quickly remove all of his clothing, including his shoes as another soldier tossed a blanket at him. Bond nodded to the young soldier and thanked him.

“How did you know? Who sent you?” Bond asked, as the soldiers started to walk him out of the house.

“The BND in Germany received a message from someone calling themselves Archangel. Said we would find WMDs here and a group of terrorists who planned on releasing them in Vienna.” The first soldier said.

Bond smile. Even while being held prisoner, Q was able to call in his own rescue. Bond wanted to laugh. The little boffin was incredible.

Bond stepped out of the house. The snow was still falling and was beginning to cover the dead bodies in the courtyard. He walked barefoot in the snow as the soldier pointed for him towards the fallen gate.

“JAMES!”

Bond twisted to see Alec shouting at him. The blonde was waving his hands. Bond could see the concern on the man’s face. Blood was smeared across his jacket. Bond took off running barefoot across the snow towards the low building where Q had been held.

Alec grabbed James by the shoulders when he reached the building and held him for a moment.

“It’s Q. He was hit.”

Bond threw Alec off him and pushed his way into the small building. Q was laying on the floor at the back of the room. Just where he was the last time Bond had seen him. It never occurred to him, that Q could have been injured in the first volley of gunfire. James pushed passed the other soldiers and knelt down beside Q’s body.

The front of Q’s shirt was covered in blood. He was breathing shallow and seemed to be struggling for each breath. His skin was very pale. His dark eyelashes were a smudge against his pallid cheek.

Bond cupped Q’s face with his palm and leaned close to speak to the young man. “Q? Q, I need you to wake up.”

Q’s eyelids fluttered. Slowly he opened his eyes and looked up into James’ face.

“Stromsburg?”

“Dead.”

Q nodded his head slowly. “Good. I don’t think I’m very good at this. I’ve only been out in the field for four days and I’ve been shot twice.”

“Q, why didn’t you tell me you were hit?”

“You are my agents. You were doing your job. It is my job to not interfere unless it is to save your butts.” Q whispered. James couldn’t help himself, he smiled.

“You saved us again, you know. You called in the fucking Austrian Special Forces. You are going to be so smug about this that no one will be able to live around you.” James teased.

“I don’t think that will be a problem . . .” Q closed his eyes again. His head turned away from James’ hand.

“Q?”

\--

“Q?!” Bond began to shout. “Q, wake up! I need you, Q! . . . Andrew! Please . . . wake up!”

The snow stopped falling outside in the courtyard.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay put down the pitchforks and torches. Remember there is one more chapter and read the tags.


	16. A Rainy Night in London

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bond in London.

It had been raining all day when Bond opened the door to his flat. He juggled the two cat carriers and the sack with the take away. He kicked the door closed with his foot and set the sack with the food down on the counter of his small kitchenette. He carefully set the two cat carriers down and opened their doors. The animals inside hesitated for a second before darting out and under the first piece of large furniture they saw. The two cats hissed at each other when they both decided to hide under the couch.

Bond smiled sadly at the two cats. He wondered how they felt having their whole lives turned upside down. Bond glanced around his flat; at the bare walls and sparse furniture. Maybe he should get a decorator in to redo it. He frowned at the idea. A decorator would make it look like a hotel suite. But then again, James was more at home in a hotel than he was in his own flat.

He pulled a wooden tray from the cupboard and set the boxes of take away on it. He added plates, a few servettes and forks and spoons. He realized he was going to have to go to the store and buy some real food soon and have it on hand at his flat.

Mallory, the bastard, had grounded Bond for four months. Forbade him from even leaving London during those months. The grounding wasn’t a burden but the hour long dressing down was. Mallory berated Bond over his failure to keep the Quartermaster safe. Bond’s blatant disregard for the procedure and protocol, and finally, the protection of Q. Bond had to remain quiet the entire time. Regardless of how much he want to shout at the man about how Q’s life was the most important thing to him, Mallory was correct. Bond had failed. He had to remain silent.

His mobile rang and Bond reached for it. He smiled when he saw the number.

“Alec! What no good are you up too?”

“Going out drinking. Found a pub we haven’t been thrown out of yet.”

James laughed. “Sorry, I’m in for the night.”

“You’re sounding like an old married man. Are you sure?” Alec understood why James wanted to stay close to home but he still had to check.

“Yeah, this is what I want.” James reassured his friend.

“Okay. If you need anything, let me know.”

Bond disconnected the call and tossed the mobile on the couch. He grabbed the tray and headed down the hall to his bedroom. The door was ajar and he could hear the soft snoring from inside. James pushed the door in and came close to the bed.

Bond stood still as he looked down at the young man sleeping. Not for the first time, Bond said a silent pray of thanks that the Jagdkommando had arrived with a full medical team. He had fought the soldiers as they pulled the naked Bond off of Q while the army medic worked to stop the bleeding. The medic worked quickly while every muscle in Bond’s body surged. Memories of Vesper’s dead body came flooding back to Bond. But Q had been innocent. He had not deserved this. He shouldn’t have been there in the first place except Bond had insisted the man come with him to Austria. Guilt and fear warred equally through Bond.

It always amazed Bond how young Q looked when he slept. He was discharged from Medical at MI6 the day before, after three separate surgeries. The first surgery took place in Austria and was to stop the bleeding from the initial gunshot wound. The second and third operations took place at MI6 to repair the damage to Q’s shoulder. The 9 mm bullet hit the tracker and fragmented badly, tearing blood vessels and damaging nerves.

“Andrew, it’s time to wake up.” James said softly.

Q stirred, shifting in the bed. He groaned faintly and rolled over to see James standing there, holding the tray. A smiled came to his sleepy face.

“Good morning.”

“Good evening.” James laughter was an exhale of breath.

“What time is it?” Q glanced around. The curtains were drawn closed and the lights were low in the bedroom. “Did I sleep through the whole day again?”

“After eight. You needed too.”

“Is it that good that I sleep so much now?” Q asked, struggling to sit up. The large bandage over his left shoulder was visible under the baggy t-shirt he wore.

James quickly set the tray down and helped Q sit up. “Actually it is. You need to rest to heal.”

James slipped the extra pillows behind Q’s back. Then reached for Q’s eyeglasses and handed them to the young man.

“Well then, why didn’t you ever listen to Medical and stay in bed to rest?” Q asked.

“I said it was good for you, not me.”

Q smiled again then pointed at the food. “That smells good.”

“Indian tonight, if you are up to it.”

“Love too.” One of the cats jumped up on the bed and into Q’s lap. “Martin! Where did you come from?!”

James gave a theatrical cough. “I may have broken into your flat and rescued them.”

“Oh, God. James! How could I ever thank you?” Q rubbed his own face against that of the ginger cat. James was suddenly jealous of the small creature. “Is Benedict here too?”

“Benedict? If you are speaking about a black haired creature that is part man eater, then yes, he is.” James teased.

“I’m amazed they came to you. They don’t like most people.” Q said as he stroked the back of the orange and white cat.

“Really? I would never have guessed that.” James decided to hide the scratch marks on his hands and arms he received from the little monsters.

James picked the tray up and set it closer to Q. The young man picked up a box and a fork.

“You know I can sit at the table to eat.”

“I just thought it would be easier for you to stay in bed.” James said as he took another box and started dishing the contents out onto his plate.

The two men ate in silence for several minutes as the cat purred loudly beside Q’s leg. The black cat came strolling into the room and also jumped up on the bed. But instead of going to Q’s outstretched fingers, the dark haired male attacked Q’s toes that were wiggling under the blanket.

“Ouch, you little devil.” Q hissed at his cat. James couldn’t agree more.

Q played for several moments with the cats while James finished eating. James had commented that Q should eat but the young man seemed more interested in his cats.

“James, I need to ask you a question.”

“Questions are easy, answers may not be forthcoming though.” Bond took a bite of paneer.

“Does Mallory know about Andy?” Q didn’t stop petting Martin, while he encouraged Benedict to attack his toes.

“He knows that Archangel is dead. I haven’t explained who she was to him. I thought I would leave that up to you.” James said as he set his plate down on the tray.

“What about me going rogue?” Q didn’t understand why he was allowed to leave MI6 with Bond instead of being arrested and thrown in the cells under the building.

“Alec and I came up with a story.” James hesitated before he continued. He hoped Q was willing to go along with the deception. “You weren’t the one who pulled the fire alarms. Someone from the outside did it. I was asking you to come and assist me with Archangel when you detected a hack taking place. That hack caused the alarms to go off and you were so worried about me, you forgot to tell R you were joining me in Venice.”

“Mallory believed that?” Q asked looked up at James. Doubt was obvious in his expression.

“I think it gave him a reasonable explanation to allow you back to work. He didn’t really want to arrest you and no one else did either. Tanner has been working behind the scenes to try and protect you.”

Q sighed and returned his attention back to the cat in his lap. “I guess you all think I can’t take care of myself now I’ve been shot . . . repeatedly.”

“No, Q. We would never think that of you. Especially after it turned out your arranged your own rescue without Alec’s or my help. You know you really ruined my reputation as hero if you don’t even need me to save you from the bad guys.” Bond tried to laugh but he could see Q was deep in thought.

Bond watched as Q’s long fingers slowly curved and stroked through the ginger cat’s hair. The animal purred and closed his eyes as he laid down in Q’s lap. The dark hair feline had jumped from the bed and was now interested in contents of the bin beside the bed.

“When can I go and bring her home?” Q asked.

James knew exactly who Q was speaking of. “Any time after you have been cleared by medical. I’m confined to London for the next four months, but I’m sure I can sneak out of the country and go with you if you want.”

“Thank you. Yes, I would want you there. We’ll wait until you are allowed to leave. Was it Mallory or some foreign government that is requiring you stay?” Q asked still not looking up at the blonde.

“It was you.” Bond whispered.

Q glanced up. His eyes wide and confused.

“Mallory blamed me for getting you shot. I blame myself.” James shrugged.

“Why?”

“I was supposed to protect you. You are my Quartermaster and . . .”

James glanced away. He quickly busied himself. He took Q’s plate and set it on the tray. He stood up and reached for the tray, but before he remove it, Q wrapped his fingers around James’ wrist.

“And what?”

James twisted to look into the hazel eyes that were watching him intently.

“Do you remember that night in Venice? I asked you why you helped me after Mexico City and you said . . .”

“Because you asked me to help you.” Q watched as James slowly nodded his head.

“And?”

“But that wasn’t the only reason. I knew that if it was important to you then . . . it had to matter to me. Because you mattered to me.” Q blushed slightly. Bond let the ghost of smile pass over his expression briefly. “James, what were you going to say? What was the second reason you are staying in London?”

“And I blame myself because I care about you too . . . I want to be more to you.”

Before Q could say more, James easily pulled out of Q’s grip and stood up straight. He took the tray and left Q alone petting his ginger cat.

Bond set the tray down on the counter of the small kitchenette. He glanced around his flat for a moment. He hadn’t intended to reveal that much information to Q. It made him feel vulnerable and he didn’t like it.

James poured himself a drink and went to his couch. He pushed aside the blanket and pillow he used to sleep there the previous night and sat down. Reaching for the remote on the coffee table in front of him, James pressed the button and soft music began to play. James leaned back, to rest his head on the back cushion and close his eyes.

The situation between Q and himself felt like too much and yet, still, not enough. He wanted more. He knew it, but the young man hadn’t shown any real interest in him except for the adrenaline fueled episodes while they were on the mission. Now that they were back in London, would Q really want more? Would he really want Bond?

They had talked around what had happened in Austria but neither man would take the final step. Neither one would ask for that final barrier to drop.

The dark haired cat jumped up on the couch and walked across the man’s lap. Without thinking about it, James held his hand up and let the cat smooth his fur under James’ touch. The cat returned and James slowly started to pet the silky hair. James took a sip of the scotch and let the music wash over him. He always found it relaxing to just sit and listen with his eyes closed. Let everything else slip to the background for just a few moments.

“James?”

The blonde’s eyes snapped open as every muscle in his body tensed. It had been a long time since someone had snuck up on him. James twisted his head to see the young man sitting on the opposite end of the couch.

“Why am I here?” Q asked as he stared at Bond. He looked so terribly young and confused. His brows were drawn together and a small pout curved his lips. The t-shirt hanging loosely on his thin frame.

“To heal. You’ve been shot and you needed someplace to recover.” James said as the cat jumped down from his lap.

“I could have just as easily stayed at my flat.” Q said.

“Do you want me to take you there?” It hurt to say it and Bond started to slip his emotional armor back on.

“No!” Q quickly said. “It’s just, you brought me here and you’ve taken care of me. And then you said what you just said. I thought . . .”

James hesitated. He waited for Q to finish his sentence but the young man seemed to searching for right words.

“Your bed . . .?” Q asked and James could see the slight coloring warm across Q’s cheeks again.

“What about it?”

“Well, specifically why am I in . . . your bed? Why am I sleeping in your bed and you are not?”

James hesitated for a moment, taking a sip of his drink.

“It is really quite simple, Quartermaster.” Bond said.

“When you call me Quartermaster, I know I’m in for a long convoluted line of bull shit.” Q interrupted James.

James hesitated. He owed Q the truth. And just this once, he owed himself too.

“Not this time . . . I want you here. I want to watch over you and make sure you are safe. When I choose to entertain someone for the evening . . . and the rest of the night . . . it is usually at one of the many four star hotels in London. Very few of my conquests see the inside of my flat and none passed the living room.”

“Oh, you were just following M’s order . . . I mean it’s not like you to . . . I do want . . . I thought . . .” Q was completely flustered.

James hoped it was a good sign. It was time to lay his cards down for the young man to see.

“You thought . . . what? I’m telling you the truth, Andrew. I’m not one to trust easily, but I trust you . . . and with so much more than just my life.” Bond couldn’t believe the words that were coming out his mouth. He sounded like some ridiculous romance novel but he couldn’t stop himself. “You’re not here because Mallory order it. MI6 thinks I took you to your place. But I didn’t want to be . . . apart from you. I want you here with me . . . now and in the future. And when you are healed, I want to be there in bed with you. I hate to say it, but I’ve grown accustom to you stealing my pillow and warming your feet next to mine. I would like us to continue to warm each other.”

Q moved quickly across the couch and knelt over James’ lap. The young man’s arms encircling around Bond’s shoulders. Q leaned forward and pressed his mouth to James’. James felt the sudden spike of heat and remembered how good Q could kiss.

The smear of lips and taste of curry. Q hummed as he allowed James’ tongue into his mouth. James could feel this beginning to escalate quickly.

“Q?!” James’ hands slipped to Q’s hips to steady him. “Your shoulder?”

“If my memory serves me correctly, you got up to more things than just kissing after you were shot in the shoulder.” He leaned back in for another kiss.

James hands slipped up and across Q’s back drawing the younger man closer.

The mobile rang. The sound muted by the blanket covering it. Q pulled back from the kiss growling. His dark hazel eyes rolled dramatically. The phone rang again.

“If that is 006 again, I will rewire his phone so it will give him an electrical shock every time he uses it.”

James’ laugh was a light hum. Q started to shift to get off the man’s lap, but James held him there. With one hand, he felt around till he found the offending mobile wrapped in the bedding he had pushed away. James read the caller ID then held it up for Q to read.

“Hello, Tanner. What is it? I’m rather busy at the moment.” Bond said as he pulled Q back down for another soft kiss.

“I just went over to Q’s flat. He missing again!” Tanner’s voice came over the phone loud enough for both men to hear.

“No, he’s not.” James said calmly.

“I’m telling you he is! I bought over some dinner for him. You know he forgets to eat. Well, I brought over some groceries and he isn’t here. Neither are those idiot cats of his!”

Q looked offended and made a grab for the phone, but James kept it out of his grasp.

“Bill, don’t call in the troops. He is here with me.” James said calmly.

“He is?”

“Yes. I thought it would be best if someone kept an eye on him and since Mallory grounded me, I was the perfect choice.”

“Oh, yes, I can understand that.” Tanner said. There seemed to some doubt in his voice though.

Q grabbed the phone away from James.

“Bill, I’m fine. 007 is spoiling me. He got dinner from my favorite Indian restaurant and brought me my cats. Who I can say are anything but idiots!”

James smiled as he nuzzled into Q’s neck. His hands slowly mapping out the boffin’s back.

“Sorry Q. Glad to know you are safe.” Tanner was apologetic. “Is there anything you need? Anything I can get you?”

“No, Bill.” Q smiled as he tipped forward into James’ body. “I’m in the best hands right now. Good night.”

Q disconnected the call before Tanner could say anything else. Q tossed the phone back down into the blanket and proceeded to give his full attention to his agent.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Que James Bond theme, roll credits. The movie is over. I hope you like the ending and no one will be hunting me down with pitchforks. Thank you to every one who commented and left Kudos. It is very encouraging to receive such support and positive re-enforcement while writing.

**Author's Note:**

> Comment always welcomed and enjoyed.


End file.
